Resting in a Raze
by Like A Dove
Summary: Zuko and Sokka go searching for a waterbender who has been long lost. Slowly but surely their world begins to erupt around them. Sequel to 'I Was Not Magnificent'.
1. Prologue

"**Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man. By then it was nothing to me but blinding."**

—**Bane, "The Dark Knight Rises"**

* * *

**A/N:**

Huzzah! This is the sequel to _I Was Not Magnificent_. If you haven't read that then, well, you probably won't understand what the hell is happening in this story.

**Warning:** This story will contain violence, sex, language, alcohol/drug use, and character death.

I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am. :D

* * *

_His little sister is annoying him. Again._

"_Father said that I could play with the sword!" she hollers, whine evident in her voice. This is how she always gets her way with Ozai—by using him as her crutch._

_Zuko tucks the wooden sword behind his back and shakes his head. "Girls aren't allowed to play with swords," he states practically. "Only boys, like me."_

_Azula's eyes narrow into slits and Zuko knows in the back of his mind that he's awakened something that he should have left slumbering._

_Azula turns on her heel and walks off, and fifteen minutes later the wooden sword is pried from his hands by Ozai, whose fingers are a little hotter than they should be. Azula quietly watches the whole scene with a certain satisfaction._

_Zuko thinks to himself that he'll wipe the satisfaction off her face one day. And when he finally does, when father finally cares more about him then he does her, he'll smile, and his smile will be earnest._

_He watches as his father hands Azula the wooden sword and walks off without a word. And Zuko expects his sister to say something, something that will cement her victory over him. Instead he watches with horror as bruises begin to form along the pale skin of her small neck, as if someone is squeezing very, very tightly._

_Or, perhaps, as if someone has snapped it._

_And then she falls and the wooden sword clatters to the floor._

* * *

Zuko wakes up with a pounding headache. This has become routine.

He rolls out of bed, wood creaking underneath his bare feet. He prepares for the day. He pulls on a shirt, a pair of pants that isn't stained with either blood or liquor, his boots, a pack for the journey ahead, and his two sharp, nasty looking daggers.

He can't really go around bending anymore, so he has taken up duel weapons. It's alarming how much he enjoys fighting with them. They don't burn; they don't bring heat. But they cut, they cut _deep_. And right now that's what Zuko wants to do. He doesn't want to burn, or to scar. He wants to cut open bleeding wounds.

He touches his head. His hair has grown out to his chin, but it's dirty from lack of washing. Apparently commoners don't bathe as much as royalty. Zuko never thought that fine soups and hot water at the simple turning of a latch would be things that he would miss.

He trots down the stairs and into the teashop. It's a front for the White Lotus, but that doesn't mean that customers don't show up at ungodly hours for his Uncle's famous tea. Random, strange faces watch him curiously as he walks over to the young man clad in blue and flings his backpack onto the table.

The kid—Zuko has yet to bother remembering his name—has a hood over his head in order to hide his tattoos. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asks, voice way too annoying and perky.

Zuko grunts in response and sits down in an empty chair, waving away a cup of tea when it is offered to him.

"Aang, we've discussed this before." Sokka, the man dressed in blue, treats the kid like he's his little brother. They're not related, though. Zuko doesn't understand this. "He's _hungover_. It means he's going to be an asshole to you for rest of the day."

"But he's always hungover."

"I know. That's why he's always an asshole."

"I know several ways to kill you with my bare hands." Zuko eyes Sokka with irritation and then plucks a teacake off a plate. "Don't forget that."

"I don't plan to." Sokka looks prepared for their journey. His boomerang is strapped to his hip, as it always is, and he's pulled his hair off his face. "I'm ready when you are."

Still chewing, Zuko waves a hand and stands up. "Let me speak to Uncle before we leave."

Sokka sighs. "Well, hurry up."

It doesn't take long for Zuko to find Iroh. He's in the back, making tea.

"We're about to leave."

Uncle Iroh stops whatever he's doing with the tealeaves and gives his nephew a weary smile. "You don't have to do this to yourself, Prince Zuko. It will only bring you more heartache."

"We've already talked about this," Zuko reminds him, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"I know. And I still don't want to see you go on this wild goose chase. She's gone—"

"Don't," Zuko snaps, eyes narrowing. "_Don't_."

Iroh sighs and steps forward. Zuko allows his uncle to embrace him. "You will only hurt yourself further."

"That's my decision, then."

Iroh pats his shoulder, eyes sad. "Where will you start your search?"

"At the southernmost tip of the Earth Kingdom. Sokka thinks that that's where…that that's where she would have landed first."

Iroh frowns. "Can you still not say her name?"

Zuko swallows thickly and then looks away, eyes scanning the already memorized room. "Goodbye Uncle. I don't know when I'll see you next."

* * *

It doesn't take the two of them too long to reach the ocean by ostrich horse. About a week.

But by the end of it Zuko already hates Sokka. And the feeling is mutual, by the way that Sokka sends him scathing looks over their nightly campfire.

The young man from the Water Tribe is rude, and loud, and arrogant, and he always thinks that he's right when he's mostly wrong. He snores, eats with his mouth open, and then complains when he gets a stomachache. He hits on women who are clearly out of his league, cannot hold his liquor worth a damn, and enjoys lecturing people on topics he's barely versed in.

But those aren't the reasons why Zuko hates Sokka. In fact, there's only one reason why Zuko hates Sokka.

And that reason is, despite how much Sokka _isn'_t like his sister, he still manages to remind Zuko of Katara.

The waves crash down against the shore. Zuko stands a little ways back, shivering a bit in the relentless sea breeze. Sokka is knee deep in the chilly water, shouting and jumping around like a child.

Zuko finally slouches down in the tall grass, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Sokka wants to start questioning locals tomorrow, although Zuko doesn't think that they'll remember a scarred girl who flitted through their lives nearly a decade ago.

But he wants to hope as much as Sokka does, so he keeps his mouth shut.

When Zuko glances back up Sokka is walking over to him, sand sticking to his wet legs and feet. He seems at home in this atmosphere, unlike Zuko.

"This view is amazing," he breathes happily, as if momentarily forgetting who he's addressing. "I bet that Katara wouldn't have left his town. This place seems like something that would've made her happy."

Sokka sits down next to Zuko and pulls his legs up to his chest. "But then, she always preferred the warmth. I'd have to yell at her for getting too close to the fire, back before she left home. Did you know that one time she signed the end of her braid? I mean, I laughed at her, but that didn't mean that I wasn't worried!"

Zuko watches Sokka with a quirked eyebrow, and he almost prompts him to talk more about his sister. But he doesn't.

Sokka lets out a breath and tilts his head back to look at the cloudy night sky. "No, I guess this place would've been too cold for her. She would have gone further inland."

Zuko remains silent, choosing to pick at a loose thread in his pants.

"Why are you here, anyway?"

"I've already told you," Zuko grumbles, "I wanted to get away from the White Lotus. Don't make me explain myself again."

Sokka rolls his eyes and sits up, purposely brushing sand onto Zuko's lap. "Yeah, well, thanks. Or whatever."

He waits until Sokka is out of sight, probably back at their makeshift camp, before lying back into the grass. No stars are out tonight, but that's okay.

"I'm going to find out what happened to you." _Dead or alive_.

He still can't bring himself to say her name.

* * *

**A/N #2:**

Thanks for everyone who politely asked, demanded, and/or threatened for a sequel. Here it is! I'm pretty pumped for this story, and I hope the feeling is mutual!

Let me know what you think! And don't forget that you guys are awesome. 'Cause you are.


	2. Bitterness

**bones sinking like stones  
all that we've fought for  
homes, places we've grown  
all of us are done for**

**we live in a beautiful world**  
**yeah we do**

—"**Don't Panic" by Coldplay**

* * *

**A/N:**

A quick note on the timeline before we dive into this chapter. **This is still only six months after the events of **_**I Was Not Magnificent.**_The prologue for this story is roughly a week after the epilogue for IWNM. There was some confusion over this. :)**  
**

* * *

The morning sun comes bright and much, much too early.

Zuko used to wake up with the sun. Nowadays his mind only stirs before falling back into slumber and his body remains still. Perhaps this is because his nights are always so late. Perhaps it's because he must now be careful with his firebending; it cannot be his main weapon should he rouse suspicions. Perhaps it is simply his body adjusting to his new lifestyle.

But when his fingers brush a half empty bottle by his head he jerks and then winces, head throbbing with pain.

He should have put away the whiskey when Sokka suggested it.

Speaking of, the other young man is leaning over him, briefly casting him in shadow. "Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but we're wasting daylight, Your Highness."

Zuko scrambles for his knives and Sokka takes a few cautious steps back.

"_Don't_ call me that," Zuko groans, sitting up and brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Sokka rolls his eyes. "Why? Afraid the crowds of people hanging around our campsite will hear you?"

"Don't call me that," Zuko repeats, voice laced with a warning.

"Fine," Sokka sighs, watching him for a short moment before reaching down and offering Zuko his hand. His smile doesn't even falter when Zuko ignores it, choosing to roll onto the balls of his feet instead. "I figure that we could start asking around the market place, see if anyone remembers her."

Zuko grabs his pack and slings it over his shoulder. "You do understand that it would have been nearly a decade since these people saw your sister?_ If_ they saw your sister? She might not have even come this way," he points out, securing his knives.

Sokka is eyeing his weapons apprehensively. "She would have had to come this way is she was sailing from home. This is the first stop."

"Well, maybe she got off at the second stop."

Sokka shoots him a sour look before turning away and beginning to walk toward the path that would take them to the seaside village. "She wouldn't have stayed on the ship that long. Especially if she was a stowaway."

Zuko frowns, letting his mind go back to the conversation he'd had with_ her_ months ago. "She was a stowaway?"

He didn't remember her mentioning _that_.

"Well, yeah. The captain of the trading ship that she left on probably would have told me and Gran-Gran if our sister was trying to buy passage."

"Fair enough," Zuko grunts, frowning deeply. "And now we're going to interview people who won't have seen her for years."

Sokka throws a grin at him from over his shoulder. "Precisely."

* * *

This isn't going well.

As soon as the local merchants figured out that Sokka wasn't actually there to buy anything, only to pester them about some girl, they practically shunned him, refusing to even look at him.

Zuko, however, has managed to get his hands on a cigar and is currently standing near the edge of the market, watching Sokka out of the corner of his eye and occasionally shooing away seagulls.

The smoke feels good against his lungs. He's missed this; he's missed being able to surround himself in his element. He actually had to bum a match off of a stranger in order to light the cigar.

How annoying.

He technically hadn't been allowed to bend while working missions for the White Lotus, but at least most everyone working in the organization had known who he was. Who he _truly_ was. Whoever that is.

But here he has to hide.

He's blowing smoke out of his nostrils when Sokka comes walking up to him, shoulders slouched with a look of defeat on his face. "They won't talk to me anymore."

"How shocking," Zuko says, tapping the cigar and letting some of the loose ash float to the ground. "I assumed everyone would remember a Water Tribe girl that they saw in passing over a decade ago."

Sokka's blue, blue eyes narrow into a glare. He smacks the cigar out of Zuko's hands and then stomps it into the ground. "And you were just_ so_ helpful, weren't you?"

Zuko's fingers form fists. "You're paying for that."

"No, actually, I'm not," Sokka snaps. "It isn't my fault that you keep wasting your coin on things you don't need."

"And it isn't my fault that you're wasting your time on local merchants who probably weren't even here when your sister passed through—_if_ she passed through."

Sokka crosses his arms over his chest and shoots Zuko a skeptical look. Zuko has seen this look and pose before, multiple times, just on someone else. He decides not to dwell on that fact. "And where to you suggest we ask around?" the other man drawls, irritated.

Zuko turns, saying nothing but leading the way. And, of course, Sokka follows.

* * *

"You can't be serious. Also, I hate you."

But Zuko isn't listening. It took him the better part of an hour to locate the shabby little bar, but they have firewhiskey, and that's what's important.

Sokka grabs the sleeve of his shirt and attempts to yank him backward. Zuko breaks out of the grip almost instantly, reminding them both that he's much more agile and dangerous then he seems.

"Don't touch me," Zuko says, voice ringing with command, and Sokka takes a swift step back.

Everyone in the bar has stopped to watch them curiously.

Zuko straightens his posture and begins to make his way toward the bar, where the bartender has already pulled out two glasses.

"If you've tagged along on my quest just to get _drunk_ all over the Earth Kingdom, then I'm going to leave you," Sokka says lowly from behind Zuko.

"Who do you think is going to be more sympathetic toward a small, runaway child? Drunk people who are looser with their coin or merchants who only care about making money?" Zuko says over his shoulder.

He glances behind him to see Sokka's eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"Who do you think your sister would have spent more time with? The higher class or the lower class? I can tell you which one would be more charitable."

"_Fine_," Sokka snaps. "I'll ask around."

Zuko slides into a stool and watches as the bartender wordlessly pours him amber alcohol into a glass. Zuko then proceeds to down it in two gulps.

"You're a miserable man, aren't you?"

Zuko jerks his head up, eyes narrowing in irritation. A woman has slipped onto a bar stool next to him, face completely painted in full Kyoshi makeup. Her green robes cling to her body smugly and Zuko can see her famous fans strapped to her hips.

Months ago he would have smirked at someone like this. He would have purred inwardly, pleased that once again he hasn't had to do any work, that a woman has come to him without him having to woo or prod her.

But that was months ago—lifetimes ago.

"Fuck off," he breathes, sliding two coins toward the bartender. His glass is refilled.

"It's barely mid-afternoon," the girl points out, lips quirking up in interest.

Zuko gestures to the others in the bar. "And yet I'm not alone." He gives her a pointed look at that and she grins, catlike.

She jerks a thumb toward the corner of the bar, where other Kyoshi warriors are sitting. "We're waiting for our ship to leave port," she explains. "Just passing the time with some tea."

"That's nice."

The girl's eyebrows furrow and she looks at him, really looks at him. "You seem familiar," she states, propping her elbow on top of the bar. "I swear, I think I've seen you on posters around the Earth Kingdom."

"Wanted posters?" He takes a sip of his drink and doesn't wince at the bitterness.

"No, Fire Nation propaganda." The woman's expression has turned fierce and Zuko can already see the accusation building, when they are interrupted.

The other Kyoshi women have stood up to leave. "Suki, come on," one of them calls, waving to the woman.

The annoying warrior, presumably Suki, gives Zuko one last long, good stare before standing up and exiting the building.

Moments later, just when Zuko had thought that he was about to be able to finish his drink in peace, Sokka bumps against his shoulder while trying to clamor up onto the stool.

"Who was that?" the Water Tribe man asks, gaze lingering on the door, as if hoping that the Kyoshi warriors will come waltzing back in.

"I don't care," Zuko grumbles. But something unsettling begins to curl in Zuko's stomach. He only stayed in one area when he was with the White Lotus, and it was easy to remain undisclosed when he was alone.

But if he's this easily recognized outside of the White Lotus' shadow, then there are bound to be problems ahead.

He sucks in a breath, mind calming, before he remembers the most important matter at hand. "Did you hear anything?" he asks, expecting nothing.

He's surprised when Sokka's face lights up. "Actually, yeah. That old guy in the corner says he remembers a little girl with scars getting off a ship and asking for work about eight or so years ago."

Zuko shifts in order to look at the old man in question, noticing that he's slouched over, drunk and drooling.

"He looks like a reliable source."

"It's better than nothing." There is already weariness in Sokka's voice. Zuko knows that this is not a good sign.

"I told you that people around here wouldn't really remember," Zuko says, finishing his drink. He can already feel its affects taking over his body, blurring the edges of everything. That's what he wants.

He's on a fool's errand searching for a dead girl. Everything should be blurry.

"But we did hear something on the first day, which is saying something," Sokka reasons, the weariness already being replaced by hope. Hope that Zuko sorely lacks.

Sokka finally orders a drink—tea.

Zuko stares down into his empty glass and wonders about things he's too scared to think on sober.

* * *

The former Prince follows behind Sokka, boots scuffing against the earth. He says nothing, just listens to the crickets and tries not to look up at the stars.

He's grown used to his head buzzing like this, grown used to the lack of caring that he has toward everything when he's in this sort of state. This is how he's survives the bullshit; this is how he'll continue to survive the bullshit.

He can hear the sea somewhere off in the distant. He doesn't care to seek it out, doesn't care to draw hope and feeling from the menacing, never-ending ocean.

There's a deep sigh from ahead. "Aang would've liked this. It's peaceful out here."

"You're not whining about leaving him again? He can't become the Avatar if he doesn't train," Zuko says, scratchy voice feeling more like a hum in his throat through his drunkenness.

"Katara would've liked this too," Sokka says, ignoring Zuko's previous statement. His voice has gone soft, too soft, and Zuko swallows the sudden bile in his mouth. He licks his lips and tries to forget the sea breeze tossing up his shaggy hair.

And he thinks that she_ would_ like this place, being surrounded with the sights and smells and sounds of the sea, her natural element. She wouldn't have wanted to stay here, but she would've still liked this place.

He wonders how she liked it when she first came here, running away from her Tribe and her demons alike.

_And she was going to run away from him. She had been leaving._

He feels pain—the emotional kind. It seeps into his chest and leaves him without a breath and before he can think on what he's doing he sinks to the ground, eyes wide and barely seeing.

He half expects Sokka to leave him like his sister was going to, but the other man is soon crouching in front of him, lips set in a grim, thin line.

"You drink too much," the other man admonishes.

Zuko responds by turning onto his side and vomiting up whatever was in his stomach.

He hears Sokka sigh again, hears him rustling around in his pack. Soon something is tucked underneath his head and a blanket is thrown over him.

Zuko doesn't necessarily fall asleep. He simply turns himself off.

* * *

He awakens to a growl and a scream of pain. He lurches forward, hands already fumbling around for his daggers, when he notices Sokka wrestling on the ground with what looks to be a mountain lion.

Zuko scrambles to his feet, and it takes his brain a few moments to catch up with his gaze. He's still drunk.

But his instincts take over and he rushes forward, knocking the massive cat off of his partner.

"It came out of _nowhere_," Sokka shouts, clutching a bleeding arm. The cat has moved away from the two men, the fur on its back standing up, lips rolled back over its teeth in a hiss.

"What's a lion like this doing near the ocean anyway?!" Sokka continues, finally clamoring to his feet and reaching out with his good arm for his boomerang.

"_Shut up_," Zuko orders, daggers poised in his hands. The cat has arched its back, in a striking pose, and Zuko can hear the threatening rumbles coming from its chest.

The ex-Prince springs and the cat roars and Zuko forces it to move backwards with a slice into the animal's shoulder. He watches cautiously, head pounding, as the feline takes a few sharp swipes at him with its claws, ears flat on his head.

But that's when Zuko notices something. The cat's eyes gleam golden and bright, and they shine with fear. Its fangs are bared because it is unsure, because it is afraid, because it knows that if it doesn't defend itself then no one else will.

Zuko's grip on his daggers tighten, and his mind whirls as he's reminded of _someone_, someone who he can't pinpoint because the alcohol is making his mind sluggish and heated.

He swallows, ignoring Sokka cries of frustration in the background.

"_How are you just standing there?!"_

But something inside Zuko cannot strike down this creature. He's killed before, and he's quite sure that he'll kill again, whether from necessity or pleasure or biting anger he isn't sure.

He slides a step back, careful not to look away from the cat.

And then the lion turns and flees, quick as a flash. Zuko doesn't pursue.

"Are you fucking kidding me? It practically _ripped off my arm_!" Sokka looks furious and indignant. He's already torn off a section of his blanket and wrapped it around his injury.

Zuko can't roll his eyes. His head hurts too badly. But he does manage to shake his head as he makes his way back to his own blanket. "It scratched you because it was scared. It's probably lost. Mountain lions don't normally dwell around here."

"I know. I said that," Sokka snaps. He huffs and holds his injured arm against his chest. "It's going to come back for me all because you didn't—"

"Shut up." Zuko's eyes are already closed and he can't help but moan as his hangover begins to set in. At least the sun won't rise for hours still. "We can find someone in the village to properly bandage your arm tomorrow."

He hears grumbling from where Sokka is lying down. "Hey, remember that old man in the bar?"

Zuko _hates_ her brother. Hates him.

"Anyway, he mentioned something about Katara and a brothel. Do you think that means anything?"

Zuko doesn't answer. He merely pulls the blanket over his head in order to keep the chill and the noise out.

He drifts back off, not thinking about the cat, not thinking about _her_, not really thinking about anything. He'll keep his mind blank, keep it white. It's a little safer to be in the blankness then out here where there is color. Where there is pain.

* * *

When the sun finally dawns, he wakes up to a golden feline gaze.

* * *

**A/N #2:**

Admittedly, I'm not overly impressed with this chapter. I think it mostly stems from me figuring out what the hell is going on while actually writing it, which I do not recommend. Less then halfway through this story epic shit goes down, and I'm good to go from there 'til the ending, but until then I'm sort of flying by the seat of my pants, so bare with me. Also, with school and work my time to write has been cut in half. Boo.

A big, big thank you to everyone who reviewed the prologue. I wasn't expecting nearly that kind of response for this story, so thanks to everyone who is reviewing and reading and spazzing over this. You guys make all my frustrated tears and hours of listening to sad music worth it.

Leave me your thoughts on this installment if you feel so inclined. :D


	3. Distracted

**This empty heart you left me with  
The ribbon on my parting gift  
I'm falling hard for every yard  
Of the dream you sold me  
Dream you sold me**

**All your enemies**  
**Smile when you fall**  
**You take it cause you**  
**Don't know what you want**  
**You don't know what you want**

******—"Nova Baby" by The Black Keys**  


* * *

Zuko freezes, all the blood in his body turning icy with apprehension.

The great cat is watching him closely from barely a foot away, and Zuko cannot bring himself to move.

If being eaten by a cat is what takes him into the Spirit World, then he's not going to be happy.

"Don't move." Sokka is attempting to be stealthy by maneuvering around the cat with a knife raised high, as if he's going to surprise it with a stab in the back. By the way the cat's gaze flicks in Sokka's direction and then back to Zuko, the former Fire Prince knows that it's not nearly as stupid as the two young men would like to think.

"It knows you're there," Zuko says, not bothering to hush his voice.

The cat licks its lips and then sits on its haunches.

That's when Zuko decides to give it some of his jerky.

"Are you _serious_?!" Sokka exclaims, flinging his arms into the air. "You're going to _feed_ the killer kitty?"

But Zuko says nothing; he watches as the cat gnaws on the dried meat happily and yet warily, its eyes never leaving Zuko's face.

It's like the cat knows that if anyone is the threat it's Zuko, not Sokka.

This makes Zuko like the cat a little bit more.

Stomping his feet and grumbling, Sokka marches back to his bedroll and proceeds to tuck his knife back into his boot. "Why don't I give him some of my fruit tarts, then? Or, better yet, why don't you share some of that whiskey that you have stashed in your bedroll? Unless you've already drank it all, of course. We can all just be the bestest of friends!"

"Shut the fuck up, Sokka. She's just hungry. You can see her ribs." Zuko tilts his head and studies the cat further. Nobility would sometimes keep cats like this as pets back home in the Fire Nation. This one isn't wild. Zuko can feel this in his bones.

He stands up and brushes some dirt off his pants. He pauses and keeps his eye on the cat as she backs a few steps away. Dark mud stains her tan fur and it _does _look skinny. Skinny enough to make Zuko pity it. But the eyes are golden and healthy and perceptive.

Once again, Zuko can't bring himself to kill her.

"Oh, so it's a lady cat now. Great."

The cat eyes Sokka disdainfully before slowly turning around and disappearing behind the same set of bushes it had escaped behind last night.

Zuko rolls up his bedroll, puts it away and then slips his pack around his shoulders. "Let's see if she follows us."

Sokka is shaking his head. "If it does then I'm naming it Cuddles. No exceptions."

* * *

It's been nearly five days. The sun is setting as Sokka and Zuko trudge through fields of thick, green grass. They left the sea behind them some time ago.

And the cat has followed them every step of the way. Sokka is almost more excited by this then Zuko is. Almost.

"I bet there's a butcher's shop in town," Sokka points out as twinkling village lights come into view ahead of them. "We could get Cuddles a nice slab of meat. Oh man, I bet that'll make her happy. Meat makes everyone happy. It's so delicious, juicy, flavorful—"

"We're not buying her meat," Zuko snaps, exasperated with his traveling partner. Sokka has been talking about nothing but meat for _hours_. Zuko knows it's to cover up the fact that neither of the young men have eaten anything since that morning, but _still_.

He didn't know that someone could love meat to quite this extent.

"And her name isn't Cuddles," the ex-prince adds as an afterthought.

"Well, I haven't heard you come up with anything acceptable," Sokka counters, pausing to cast Zuko an aggravated look over his shoulder.

"I'm still thinking," Zuko replies. In reality, he doesn't want to name it. Naming something signifies attachment, or the idea of attachment.

Zuko has lost too many things that he's grown attached to.

And names are always the hardest to erase.

"Whatever. I'll be right back." Sokka lets his pack drop to the floor before heading into a taller set of grass.

Zuko stands still, eyes flicking up toward the setting sun. There's a stirring in his chest and without really thinking he opens his palm. He watches his flame dance across the pale, calloused skin of his hand and he feels something warm and aged curl along the pits of his stomach.

He misses his bending. He misses his home.

And to know that he can never go back to the way things were makes him ache, makes him long for the freedom of his childhood, where nothing could ever touch him. Not politics, or rivalries, or blood, or waterbenders.

He would change so many things if he could go back.

All the hair on the back of his neck stands up and he snaps his hand closed, fingers moving to his back to slide along the hilts of his daggers.

Someone is watching him.

He knows it's not the cat. Her eyes gleam out of the ever deepening shadows, watching him quietly and contently. No, this is someone else. Someone who is much more of a predator then this cat could ever hope to be.

Sokka comes stumbling out of the tall grass, sighing with relief and fidgeting with the waistband of his pants. "Right," he says tiredly, his noisiness breaking through the silent tension that had permeated the air just a moment before. "Ready?"

Zuko nods sharply, fingers falling away from his daggers. If Sokka notices the edginess to his walk then he doesn't comment on it.

As they make their way toward the village, Zuko keeps his wits about him.

Whoever is following them does not have the best intentions. They never do.

* * *

It takes Zuko a frustrating ten minutes to talk Sokka down from buying an entire hog carcass.

"But think," Sokka had begged, voice nearly a wail, "about how long that would give us meat! And meat is protein. We need protein!"

Zuko smacks Sokka upset the head and forces him along by putting the ball of his foot against the other man's lower back and shoving him forward. "We did not come here for meat. We came here for the brothel."

The butcher rolls her eyes and slams the door to her shop with a huff.

The sheer disappointment in Sokka's blue eyes is nearly comical. "But…but—"

"Is your sister less important than your stomach?" It's not a very nice thing to say; Zuko knows this before he even utters it, but the effect it has on the other man is precisely what he wanted.

Sokka straightens and fixes his tunic, glaring at Zuko the entire time. "Of course not."

"Then let's move along."

Sokka's gaze narrows but he complies, walking away from the butcher's shop without looking back.

They find the brothel easily. The red lanterns hanging outside of the building mark it for what it is, and Sokka's clenched fists and stubbornly set jaw give Zuko a clue on exactly what the Water Tribe man thinks of working girls.

"She might not be here," Zuko says. He knows she isn't, of course. He tries not to think of swords sinking through chests.

Yet he's still trying to comfort her brother, the only real thing he has left of her.

"I know," Sokka says, voice wavering. "But the man back in that seaside town said that lots of girls get sent here, especially orphans."

"The _drunken_ man, you mean."

"Shut _up_. It's all I have to go on."

Zuko frowns but says nothing else.

And then there's that feeling again, like someone is examining his every move. He whirls around, golden eyes raking over every dark, unknown corner. This time he draws his daggers and moves into a defensive stance, head twisting about so that he won't be caught by surprise.

And then Sokka's face slips into his field of vision.

"Did you see a scary bug?" the other man asks dryly, eyebrow raised.

Zuko has to resist the urge to kick him. "No. Someone is following me."

Sokka blinks at him, unimpressed. "Could it potentially be Cuddles, the giant cat that's been following us for days on end?"

"No," Zuko ground out, irritated that Katara's brother is trying to make him feel stupid. "She wouldn't have followed us into the village. It would've been too dangerous for her, idiot."

Sokka rolls his eyes and shakes his head, looking completely put out. "Put your knives away. You'll scare the small children."

Zuko unhappily puts them away as requested, but the feeling of being watched still leaves him uneasy.

When they make it into the brothel he lets out a sigh of relief. And when that sigh is gone his eyes widen, because he hadn't been expecting the pleasure establishment to be anything like _this_.

The only other brothel he'd been to had been in the Fire Nation Capitol, and he'd been searching for someone back then as well.

But while that one had been loud and drunken and obnoxious, with men and women gambling and grouping each other in front of everyone else, this place was…practically the opposite.

A woman stands in the corner with a large book and quill sitting in front of her. She is looking at them expectantly and it takes Zuko a moment to realize that she's waiting for their names. A bookkeeper, he understands, and a sly part of him is amused. All the chairs and sofas are covered with worn velvet and the working women are dressed in fine silks.

The establishment is _classy_.

Sokka is looking around stupidly from where he's standing next to him. "This isn't at _all_ like brothels they describe in the scrolls."

The bookkeeper clears her throat, but Zuko ignores her. He makes his way into the large opening room and heads right toward the open bar. From the scent in the air, it smells as if this place serves dinner as well. _Fascinating._

He taps the table top and catches a young women's attention. Her apron is stained with what looks to be beer and she shots him an irritated work before coming to stand in front of him and Sokka.

"What do you want?" she asks crisply, and before Zuko can order anything to drink Sokka smoothly cuts in.

"I was wondering if anyone used to…to work here by the name of Katara."

Zuko ducks his head and fights back the onslaught of memories.

The young woman gives Sokka a pinched look before shaking her head. "Doesn't ring a bell. Anything else?"

Zuko can see the utter desperation creeping onto Sokka's face. He's already losing his only lead on his long lost sister.

Zuko stares at the bottle of rum in the women's hand. Perhaps he can keep off his own hopelessness until the morning.

"Please, you have to know something—"

Sokka hushes when an older woman appears beside the young bartender. The older woman watches him with vague curiosity. Zuko doesn't have to make much of a guess in order to figure out who this woman is. She's clearly the Madame of this place, with her pretty charcoal lined green eyes and her long, gray braid that hands over one shoulder.

"What's the commotion?" she asks, voice soft but stern, and Zuko almost feels as if he's dealing with a grandmother.

It takes Sokka a moment to find his voice. "I'm looking for my sister. I was told that she might have come here, I mean, it would've been a few years ago, but—"

"What was her name?"

Sokka visibly swallows. "Uh, her name was Katara."

The Madame smiles and Zuko feels his heart speed up in anticipation.

"You must be her brother," she says, eyes tracing over him. "She talked about you quite a bit."

Sokka has suddenly gone very pale. "You knew, I mean, she was here?"

"Katara? Yes. She was young and hungry when she first came. We put her to work cleaning the bedrooms and doing the dishes. She never touched a man while she was here, which was unfortunate. All of the customers always asked how she got those _unfortunate_ scars. She was mysterious, something men would pay—"

Sokka's eyes roll back into his head and he faints, head hitting the table top with a bang.

"Interesting," the Madame says, observing Sokka's now limp body. "We've had men faint here before, but from vastly different reasons."

* * *

Zuko is tipsy by the time Sokka wakes up.

They'd moved him over to a sofa, where the Madame and a couple of the girls were waiting for him to wake up—and perhaps to see if they could squeeze a few coins out of him for the evening.

Zuko didn't particularly care either way. Sokka could do whatever and whomever he wanted.

His body tingles with unnatural warmth and before any of the women on duty tonight can properly proposition him he stumbles his way out into the cool night air.

But before he can so much as clear his head he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns, bolts forward, and hooks his foot around the other person's leg, effectively tripping them.

He hears a feminine squeak as his stalker goes hits the ground, and his heart leaps as he peers down. For a brief moment silly, ignorant hope embodies him and he thinks that blue eyes are going to stare back up at him. Blue eyes and a hopefully scarred face.

But the eyes that he sees are surrounded by smudged makeup, and they're narrowed with anger and determination.

Zuko shoves his muddy boot against Suki, the Kyoshi Warrior's throat. "Why have you been following me?" he growls, pressing down with his full weight.

Suki chokes and her eyes bulge and he eases up, having felt that he's threatened her properly.

She manages to get to her feet gracefully, face full of disdain. "Nice to see you again, _Prince Zuko_."

He stills, mind whirling, and furious that he hadn't kept her on the ground.

He is getting soft.

"You're insane."

She smirks. "Not really." She fumbles for something inside her robes before pulling out an old poster, his smiling face the main focus of the yellowing paper.

"You and your sister's posters were all I saw for _days_ after the Fire Nation took over Kyoshi Island, my _home_." She sounds vicious. Zuko will not escape this without having to use his daggers.

"My fellow warriors tried to convince me that I was mistaken, but I know your face. I'd know your stupid face anywhere." She throws the poster to the ground and grinds her heel into it, eyes never leaving Zuko's.

"And what are you going to do know that you've found me?" he asks, smiling, making sure he sounds nonchalant in order to infuriate her further.

She looks at him as if he's stupid. "I'm going to expose you for what you are. A murdering prince who'd rather fake his own death then deal with the consequences of his actions."

"I didn't fake my own death," Zuko says, shrugging. "It just happened to work out in my favor."

Her nostrils flare. "What kind of person sets fire to their bedroom with their own _sister_ inside?"

Zuko snorts. "You didn't know my sister."

Suki's eyes narrow even further. Zuko drops into a fighting stance seconds before she is on him, fans gleaming sharply in the moonlight.

She is quick, flinging blow after blow at him before he can properly go for his daggers. He can feel blood flowing down his arm from where she's already sliced his bicep.

The more rational side of his brain insists on trying to talk this through. She could probably be bought off, or threatened into submission. Most people like to think themselves as brave until a knife is pressing against their throat. Then all they can think about is survival.

But that doesn't feel final enough. Because this young woman is stubborn, and _pissed off_. His and the Fire Nation's humiliation would bring her a kind of happiness that nothing like coin could ever buy.

In a way, Suki reminds him of_ her_.

And yet he doesn't bat an eye when he lithely ducks her next blow before bending his body forward, his hand and wrist moving into the perfect arc. He lets go of the dagger at the ideal angle, and it soars at a speed that is just a little too fast for the Kyoshi Warrior to dodge.

The dagger sinks into her skull with a slick thud.

His opponent falls to the ground, and Zuko is given no time to contemplate his actions before the door to the brothel opens and Sokka trots out, hand pressed against his head.

When he sees the body he manages to hide his surprise fairly quickly. "I just can't leave you alone, can I?"

"She knew who I was," Zuko explains, bending down to yank his dagger out of Suki's head. There's the squelching of mud and soon Sokka's feet come into view.

Zuko glances up to gage his partner's reaction. Sokka looks sad—but only as sad as one could be over a pretty stranger. "She didn't seem so bad…"

"Maybe in another life," Zuko says, wiping his dagger on Suki's dirty green robes. He stretches his shoulders out as he stands up. "What do we do with the body?" he asks, glancing again in Sokka's direction.

The other man is already shaking his head. "Oh no. Helping you hide bodies did _not _come with allowing you to accompany me on my journey—"

"Have you gone back to killing to solve your problems, Zuko?"

Both Zuko and Sokka jump, startled, before peering down at the still lifeless body at their feet. And then, stupidly remembering that she's dead and cannot speak, they both turn to look at the person behind them at the same time.

When Zuko sees who it is he feels both dread and the urge to laugh. "Toph?"

* * *

**A/N:**

**I feel as if I should apologize to the readers who wanted Suki's return. I'm pretty sure that this isn't what you had in mind, heh.**

**I feel much better about this installment then I did about the last one, so yay! Hopefully you all enjoyed reading this, hmm? Admittedly, I get more pleasure out of writing this kind of Zuko then I should.**

**Review and let me know what you think! :D**


	4. Wavering

**I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones.  
Enough to make my systems blow.  
Welcome to the new age, to the new age.**

**I raise my flags, don my clothes,**  
**It's a revolution I suppose**

******—"Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons**

* * *

The earthbender is just as arrogant and irritating as Zuko remembered.

"What's up with you, former Fire Prince Zuko?" Toph cracks, crossing her arms and putting all her weight onto one bare, muddy foot.

It's then that Zuko is reminded that she is blind. It's so easy to forget.

"Heard you killed your sister," she throws out casually, her lips pulling up into a smirk. "Can't say I blame you. She wasn't quite all there."

There's a twinge of something inside of Zuko's chest, and this feeling only rears its hideous head when others casually mention his sister's murder, casually mention that her blood is forever coating his hands.

He recalls Iroh's words, that he'd regret killing her, one day.

But he finds with vicious satisfaction that that day is not today.

The expression on Toph's dirty cheeks softens. "I heard about Kat—"

Zuko lunges forward, knocking Sokka into the mud in the process, and pushes one of his large hands against the earthbender's mouth, silencing her.

"What the hell?" It takes Sokka a few extra moments to climb to his feet, as the mud is slippery. "You could warn a guy, you know."

Blunt fingernails bite into the back of Zuko's hand, and he releases Toph, having effectively gotten his point across.

"I also heard about that chick that you loved," she bites out, voice much sharper than before. "Shame."

Zuko clenches his jaw and says nothing, refusing to think about her and her face and her kiss and her demise. It isn't fair. It'll never be fair.

He's a little irritated that Toph doesn't look more upset at the mention of the waterbender. The waterbender had been responsible for her escape, had sacrificed her own freedom for this blind child's. The more he thinks on it, the angrier he gets.

"Have more respect," he growls out. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

Toph whirls toward him, milky, unseeing eyes wide in fury, but Sokka manages to slosh through the mud in order to stand between them.

"I'd be careful," he warns, placing a hand against Toph's shoulder. "He'll probably stab you in the head. He's done that, you know. He's literally just done that."

Temporarily distracted, the earthbender turns her head in Sokka's direction, irritated. "And who are you?"

Sokka doesn't move his hand from Toph's shoulder; he opts to smile at her instead. "Name is Sokka. Currently searching for lost sister. Master wielder of the illusive boomerang. Overall awesome dude—"

"That's great. I don't care." Toph shoves away from him. "You find your sister yet?" she asks, voice with a loss less bite then it should.

"Just got a lead!" Sokka says, so excited and hopeful that Zuko nearly shoves him back down into the mud for his own good.

He reminds himself that he's here for hope as well.

Even if it's a lost cause.

"She used to work at this brothel when she was young, apparently, right after she escaped from the South Pole—"

Toph's head jerks toward Sokka and she frowns. "What's your sister's name?"

"Katara. Hey, have you by chance heard of her? Heard from her? Seen her? Anything?"

The earthbender tilts her head in Zuko's direction, and the former prince knows that if Sokka hadn't been standing right in front of them both then she probably would've snarled something nasty at him.

"Not quite," Toph answers, causing both Zuko and Sokka to shoot her funny looks. Looks that she can't see, of course.

"Let's get inside," she says, turning toward the brothel. "I'm starving. Oh, but first—" She takes an earthbending stance and there's a gentle shuddering underneath Zuko's feet. Glancing around, his gaze falls across Suki's body.

The dead Kyoshi Warrior is sinking steadily and deeply into the gushing mud. Soon the earth swallows her up and she is forgotten.

Sokka is watching the now blank patch of mud with mild horror and fascination. Zuko looks at Toph out of the corner of his eye, knowing that she knows that he's watching. He doesn't say thank you, and he knows that she does not expect it.

They both move back toward the brothel at the same time, and right before they reach the doorway with Sokka trailing behind them, Toph turns to the Water Tribesman and says, "Also, I'm blind."

Sokka freezes, blinking stupidly. In the end, all he can offer is an impressed, "Huh."

* * *

Zuko flicks a couple of coins at the barmaid, and moments later a plate of food is set down in front of Toph. More whiskey for him of course.

The earthbender tucks into her meal. She's demolished it moments later, and Zuko finds his upper lip curling up in disgust.

And then Toph is viciously poking him in the side. "I knew you felt lighter," she declares. "How much weight have you lost, anyway?"

Zuko swats her hand away, irritated. "I haven't lost any weight."

"You're full of shit." She presses her palm back up against his side, feeling as his ribs slide against her hand. "_Damn_."

"Stop touching me!" he snarls out, scooting away from her. He's not feeling too self conscious. He hasn't been utilizing his bending, and he's been having to rely on his knives to do the majority of his fighting for him. His muscles have leaned out because of this; he's lost his bulk. This isn't much of surprise. It's just annoying to have someone point it out.

He's about to take another swig when Toph takes the glass away and knocks it down first.

Sokka is absolutely _ogling_ her.

"You're pushing your luck, earthbender," Zuko states, fuming.

"Yeah, whatever. Like you need anymore, anyway. You smell like a brewery."

Sokka chuckles, and his laughter turns into a cough at Zuko's potent glare.

Toph burps and pushes away her now empty plate away. "If you two will excuse me."

As soon as she rounds the corner toward the bathrooms, Sokka practically pounces onto Zuko.

"Who_ is_ she?!"

Zuko rolls his eyes, already seeing where this is going. "She was one of my old volunteers."

"I…I didn't think volunteers could get out of being, you know, volunteers."

"She did." When Zuko attempts to wave down the barmaid again, she ignores him.

"That's awesome," Sokka breathes, staring over Zuko's shoulder at nothing in particular. "Do you think she'll travel with us from here on out?"

Zuko has to resist the urge to smack his companion over the head. "No, she's not coming with us. Are you insane?"

"No, but you're cranky."

Toph appears by the both of them, back from wherever she went. She tugs on the sleeves of their tunics. "Come on, you two. I have something I need to talk to you guys about." She shoots Zuko a pointed expression and he stands up and follows her against his better judgment, grinding his teeth in annoyance.

They manage to find a more secluded table in the brothel, and as more customers start to drift into the establishment, the girls start to get touchier with Zuko and Sokka as they walk by.

"June sent me for you—," Toph begins, and Zuko is already shaking his head.

"No," he cuts her off sharply. "I'm not doing anything for June."

"As I was saying, June sent me for you. She has a proposition."

"What the hell did I just say?"

Toph crosses her fingers and leans forward, dutifully ignoring the working girl who traces her fingers across the earthbender's shoulders as she waltzes by. "You've heard of what's happening on the Fire Nation borders? You have to have."

Zuko presses his fingertips against his temples, trying not to become angrier then he already is. "Toph—"

"We could use you. Think about it, the disgraced son of Fire Lord Ozai, the one who killed his insane sister? The one who everyone thinks is dead? Do you know what that would do for us if you showed up—"

"No!" Zuko shouts, and everyone in the brothel quiets down for a moment. "I'm not on your side, Toph, and I'm not on my father's side. I couldn't give a _fuck _what happens to you or your little rebellious army, and I couldn't give a _shit _what happens with my father and his new knocked up wife."

Sokka's eyebrows have furrowed with concentration over his blue eyes, but Toph looks angry. Beyond angry.

"You're a coward," she seethes. "You have the chance to do something good—"

And Zuko laughs. "When have I ever tried to do anything good? To do the right thing? The few times I _did_ try, people got killed, by myself or otherwise. Plus, you're forgetting the most important thing, here."

Toph's hands have curled along the edge of the wooden table; the earthen element is beginning to mold and crinkle underneath her fingertips. "And what's that?"

"I don't care about what happens to you, about what happens to _any_ of you."

Toph bares her teeth before shoving a couple of coins toward Sokka. "Here. Go buy yourself a blowjob, Boomerang."

His blue eyes go wide and he chokes on his own tongue. "Wh—_what_?"

"Get lost for a few minutes, okay?" She blinks her murky green eyes at him and gives the young man a small smile, and for a moment Sokka looks like he doesn't know what to do with himself. Then he sighs and gets up, making a point to leave the coins behind.

Toph re-pockets them without saying a word. "You are a terrible human being for not telling him that you know Katara," she says, cutting right to the chase.

Zuko brushes some of his black hair out of his face, frowning. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're right," she counters easily. "You have always been open about the fact that you're a dick."

And despite himself, Zuko smiles.

"Anyway," Toph continues, "that's not the point I was trying to make."

"What was?"

Toph takes in a deep breath before tracing literal patterns into the wood. "When June and I heard about what happened, well… We went right back to the Capitol, even though we had just come from there. June had a necklace that used to belong to Katara." She glances in the direction of Zuko's face meaningfully. "You see where I'm going with this?"

Zuko's head is pounding, but he manages an affirmative noise.

"June and her shirshu didn't find _anything_." She lets the implications sink in.

Zuko leans over and pukes, barely missing his boots.

There are a few disgusted screeches, and he hears Toph huff from above him. "Really? You're so overdramatic."

He leans back up, mind whirling, and curls fists into his hair as he thinks. A wet washcloth lands in his lap, courtesy of Sokka. Grumbling, Zuko wipes off his mouth and lets out a breath between his teeth.

"So," Toph taps her fingers against the table, not caring that there's a fresh pile of sick near her feet.

Zuko sighs. "June has made you rougher then you were," he observes, going entirely off topic.

"Will you help us?" she asks again, voice pinned and ready and filled with anticipation.

Zuko does not answer her. He gets up and walks away instead.

* * *

It is the middle of the night, which means that the brothel is nearly jam packed with men and women alike. But Zuko doesn't mind the loudness of it all. It is like a white noise against the background of his reflections. Sokka and Toph have gone down the street to get some sleep at the local inn, but Zuko has opted to stay here, to stay amongst the chaos.

He had thought, in some wild part of his body, that following Sokka around would soothe a scorching burn that didn't know how to heal itself. He thought that maybe there was some supernatural force that existed between siblings that would have lead Sokka to his sister, even though Zuko knew that she was dead.

Zuko should have always known better. The bond that he was counting on to exist between Sokka and her was merely a myth; the same "bond" got his own sister killed.

And that burn had festered until it had become infected. The disease dragged him down and made him brittle and bitter.

But if June and her shirshu couldn't even find her remains, then _where was Katara?_

Her name zings against his chest and he takes in a sharp, quick breath.

His head hurts, his head _aches_, and he doesn't know what to do, has no idea what he _should _do. He is confused and lost and alone, and multiple paths have spread themselves out before him.

Usually Zuko liked having control, liked being able to make his own choices. But he doesn't have a father or an uncle or servants or council members or an entire nation of people to take the fall for his mistakes this time.

A girl slides in next to him at the bar, hair slightly tousled by her previous client.

Zuko remembers the time that he spent at another brothel, and how everything toxic about the environment had been so alluring back then. Now he turns his head away and sets his mouth into a thin, hard line.

The girl sighs and leaves him be, for which he is grateful.

And then an old voice inside at him snarls in irritation. When has he ever been _grateful_ to have an attractive woman leave him alone?

Zuko groans and lets his head fall against the bar.

* * *

The next morning his head hurts to badly that he can hardly turn his eyes toward the direction of the sun.

And he's not even that hungover.

Zuko and Toph wait at the edge of the village while Sokka speaks to the Madame about Katara for the last time. Zuko suspects that his companion won't find any useful information, only that Katara used to work at that brothel before June took pity on her and bought her out of the lifestyle.

There are still missing pieces to the puzzle, but Zuko is finding himself caring about Katara's past less and less. He's much more fascinated with her potential future.

"So," Toph drawls out, "are you and that buffoon friend of yours going to tag along?"

Zuko squints his eyes and stares down at the ground, hard.

"Probably not," he finally says, stretching out his shoulders. He and Sokka would find Katara in their own way, if there was even any more Katara left to be found.

But it's painful to think like that.

There's a shuffling noise, and Toph freezes before craning her neck and listening with both her ears and her feet. Then she sorts.

"You realize you're being tracked by a massive mountain lion?"

"Yes. I gave her some jerky."

"Well, that was a mistake. Now she'll follow you around and try to beg you for more food."

Zuko shakes his head. Toph has never been well acquainted with a cat, he reasons. Especially this one. This cat, in particular he knew, would never beg.

There's the squelching of mud under footsteps and moments later Sokka comes into view, looking no less enlightened then when he had left. He sighs, coming to a stop beside Zuko. "Not much to go on, other than the fact that some bounty hunter came and bought my sister a few years ago."

Toph is about to say something when Zuko grabs Sokka's elbow and shoves him forward. "Let's go."

"Think about what kind of girl she was, Zuko! She wouldn't have stayed in the Fire Nation. She thought you were—ugh—_dead_!"

Handfuls of mud being thrown at her face will not stop Toph from talking. "Where do you think she would've gone? She would've have joined up with a cause she cared about, with people who needed her—"

"_Shut up_!" Zuko shouts, sparks spitting out of his fingertips.

Sokka is actually looking concerned for him. But there's confusion and distrust in there as well. "Who is she talking about?"

"Don't worry about it," Zuko shoves him forward, determined to block out Toph and all the sense that she's making.

And then out of nowhere a shadow falls upon them, and before Zuko can dodge out of the way the shirshu's tongue has lashed out across his back, rendering him useless.

Sokka falls right next to him, limp arm stretching perilously low across Zuko's stomach. The other man clears his throat awkwardly. "I realize that my hand is pretty close to your nether regions. Given the situation, I hope that you will excuse this as a harmless fondle between traveling companions and nothing more."

Zuko groans; his elbow throbs where he's fallen upon it. "I hate you."

Two human sized figures stand above them. Toph is clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "I told you that you should've come with us."

June leans down and yanks Zuko's head back by his hair. The ex-prince narrows his golden eyes and bares his teeth, and when June presses a knife against his throat he is painfully reminded that this isn't the first time she's threatened him like this.

The tips of June's long, black tresses brush against his forehead. Her red painted lips pull back in a feral smile. "You're going to help me, Prince Zuko, and if you don't—"

She doesn't get to finish her warning. The mountain lion knocks her off her feet first.

* * *

**A/N:**

**It's been a bit, hasn't it my pretties? Anyone who follows me on tumblr probably knows that my muse decided to duck out for a bit. Plus, I've become increasingly disenchanted with Avatar in general, a state of mind that wasn't helped out by the clusterfuck that is **_**The Search**_**. Because, vomit. **

**But, never fear! I do enjoy writing this story. There's something about Zuko here, I suppose, that makes it so much fun. Plus we're so close to all the super awesomesauce parts! I can almost taste them.**

**Hope everyone is enjoying Toph. I love her. She is my spirit animal.**

**And I've talked too much. Please leave me your thoughts. Love all of you! :)**


	5. Interlude

******Maybe I should cry for help****  
Maybe I should kill myself  
Blame it on my ADD baby**

**Maybe I'm a different breed**  
**Maybe I'm not listening**

**—"Sail" by Awolnation**

* * *

The great cat keeps June pinned underneath her, claws digging into the bounty hunter's neck mercilessly.

June has gone extremely still in the mud; her eyes flick over to Zuko's and she gives him a panicked, though irritated look. "Call off your pet, Zuko."

And he smiles. "No."

June grits her teeth at him. "Do it, or I swear on the Spirits that I won't tell you _anything_ that I know."

Zuko snorts. "Like you know anything that I don't know."

"Bet I do," she says, voice lowering sweetly. "Bet I know something about that waterbender of yours."

Zuko glances over to Toph, who has her arms crossed against her chest casually. If Zuko could move anything below his neck, he would've been tempted to take a swing at her for her nonchalance. "Is she being truthful?" he asks, not expecting much.

His expectations are met. Toph shrugs one shoulder and sniffs.

"Just a thought," Sokka interrupts, fingers twitching unconsciously against Zuko's lower abdomen. "But maybe we shouldn't let Cuddles kill June? Because I really don't want to deal with an angry shirshu while paralyzed."

Zuko sighs in defeat. He clicks his tongue, making eye contact with the cat, and soon she backs off, a low growl rumbling out of her feline throat.

June springs to her feet instantly, rubbing at her neck and glaring at Zuko. "That took you long enough." She lets out a breath between her pretty lips and then smiles.

She kicks him in the head savagely and Zuko is knocked out cold.

* * *

When he awakens hours later, he finds that his legs can work again. He stands up instantly and groans, his head pounding in rebellion and his knees threatening to buckle. But he manages to keep upright. The sun is setting and Sokka, June, and Toph are enjoying a rabbit by a campfire.

They look at him expectantly.

Zuko says nothing, merely shooting three precise fireballs at all three of them. Sokka easily avoids his, but June moves in front of Toph in order to protect her from being burned. The fireballs skim up the bounty hunter's arm, singing off the black fabric of her tunic.

Zuko bolts forward, taking advantage of June's temporary distraction. He grabs a hunk of her long, black hair and yanks her head back so that her neck is exposed. He holds up two ignited fingers to her bare flesh, golden eyes narrowed in hatred.

"I call off the lion and you _knock me out_ as payment? Explain."

June nearly goes cross eyed as she glares at him. "You're annoying. You would've snarked the whole way."

Zuko's grip in her hair tightens. "The whole way _where_?" He's vaguely aware of rock encasing his feet, of Toph in a fighting stance, of Sokka fiddling with his boomerang.

He's fairly certain the Water Tribesman would fight for the earthbender and the bounty hunter. How disappointing.

June gives him a grim smile. "Like Toph was saying earlier, the rebels on the Fire Nation borders need your help—"

Zuko huffs furiously and shoves her head away before whirling around to face Sokka, feet breaking out of their now feeble rock prison. "And you're okay with this?!" he shouts. "What about your sister?"

And that's when Sokka gives him the most unforgiving look that Zuko has ever seen him give anyone. "You mean the sister that you've known this whole time?" Sokka's voice is soft, but Zuko can hear the betrayal and barely contained fury in it.

The former Fire Prince turns to Toph, shocked. "You told him?"

The earthbender shakes her head and shoves a thumb toward June.

Zuko and the bounty hunter glare at each other. "I should have burned your _face_," Zuko snaps.

June curls her upper lip at him. "I'd still be prettier then you."

"You wish."

"Ladies, ladies." Sokka steps in between them, but Zuko notices that he presents his back to June, not him. "Don't we have more important matters to attend to?"

June sighs and gets to her feet, stamping out the campfire in the process. "Tomorrow afternoon the rebels are going to go after a Fire Nation patrol." She eyes Zuko up and down. "They'd all shit their pants if you joined in the fight."

"No."

"You're no fun," she says with another sigh, flipping her slinky hair over her shoulder. "Sokka is joining in."

"I don't care."

All four of them fall silent, and Zuko realizes that he's reached an impasse with this group. Sokka knows now, so there's no point in them traveling together anymore, really. There is nothing left for Zuko here.

There's not much left for Zuko anywhere.

Kicking at the dirt (it _is_ nice to be away from the mud), Zuko says, "What about that information that you had on Katara?"

Sokka opens his mouth to say something, but June cuts him off. "There's rumors of a rogue…bender."

Zuko blinks at her, waiting for more. When more doesn't come, he rolls his eyes. "And?"

June frowns. "Whoever it is, they're neither an earth nor a firebender."

Zuko risks looking at Sokka. "Could be the Avatar."

"It's not," Sokka answers, mouth pressed into a thin line.

"So it's Katara, because that's the only logical answer, yeah?" Zuko bites out. He shakes his head. "What useless _information_."

"The shirshu couldn't find her, Zuko," Toph points out, and he's a little surprised to find that she sounds tired. "Nyla _always_ finds who she needs to find."

June nods in agreement and Zuko turns and stalks out of the camp, not at all sure what to believe.

* * *

_**Katara is dead**__, his dreams breathe to him._

_He watched her __**bleed**__. He watched her gasp and her blue eyes tear as she died._

_As she __**dies**__._

_He hadn't actually seen her die. He suspects he can never, ever know for sure._

_**People bleed to death in minutes. Seconds**__._

_He will live the rest of life alone, searching maybe._

_**Katara is**__**alive**__, his dreams whisper to him._

_He never found her body._

_Her brother still felt that she was alive._

_Even the shirshu couldn't find her. Shirshus are notorious for finding the people that they're looking for, dead or alive._

_He had never __**seen**__ her die._

* * *

Zuko awakens covered in sweat.

There's a small clearing where the fighting will happen. Zuko will sit on the outskirts of it and watch Fire Nation soldiers and rebels die for lost causes.

He couldn't care.

He _should _care.

He knows that Toph is fighting, knows that June has got her sticky fingered hands in this as well. But Sokka…

Sokka surprises him.

The other young man is sitting a few feet away from him, knees bent and faithful boomerang strapped to his hip.

"This isn't my war," he had said that morning upon finding Zuko and the cat eating jerky for breakfast. "All I want is to find my sister. That's all I've ever wanted."

And then Sokka had punched Zuko in the face. And Zuko did not retaliate because, in the end, Zuko knew he deserved it.

So they sat near each other, each too curious to leave, but neither prepared to do anything but watch.

"So, how does this work?" Sokka asks, casting Zuko a curious glance over his shoulder.

"How does what work?"

"You know, battles."

Zuko barks out a laugh. "I'd hardly call this a battle." He runs his fingers thought his chin length hair. "Maybe a scuffle," he adds as an afterthought.

"Think anyone will die?"

Zuko shrugs carelessly. "Probably."

There's a moment of companionable silence, which Zuko enjoys. And then Sokka breaks it.

"Look," the blue eyes man says, "I hit you, so I feel better toward you as person again. Kind of. You're still a dick. But anyway, what I want to say is, if you touch my sister—"

"_If_ your sister is still alive—"

"—if you touch my sister, I will do something very, very undesirable to your man parts, get it?"

Zuko almost smiles. "Yeah."

The fighting that breaks out is pretty pathetic. Zuko nearly goes back to his makeshift camp and takes a nap.

But eventually it does get interesting.

The rebels held the upper hand for some time, but soon back up from another Fire Nation patrol arrives, and the tides begin to turn.

Most of the rebels flee, most too tempted to die another day, but the blind earthbender gets cornered. She fights fantastically, Zuko will give her that. But she can't take a solid stand against fifteen men. It's impossible.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Sokka roll to the balls of his feet.

And then Sokka is gone, boomerang in his hand, moving out into the clearing with his weapon raised.

He'll get himself killed.

Zuko is currently faced with two choices.

He could leave, could let fate take its course. Fate is cruel; Zuko knows this fact first hand. But he also understands that everyone has the power to alter their own fate, if they so choose.

He could intervene and save Katara's brother, and something inside of him stirs at this. He's not particularly fond of Sokka, doesn't hold him on any kind of pedestal, but…

But Zuko had loved Katara.

Zuko l_oves_ Katara.

And Sokka is an extension of that.

Zuko leans down and fishes for the small flask of whiskey that he'll forever keep in his boot. He drawls in a mouthful, not quite swallowing, and lets the alcohol sit on the back of his tongue.

When he walks out into the clearing, grass parting beneath his feet, he is not noticed at first.

His inner fire is awake and roaring.

Zuko opens his mouth and lets out what he thinks might be a war cry. Fire whooshes from his mouth in a mighty stream, catching the attention of most of those fighting. His flames crack and burn his lips, but Zuko pays no mind. He only takes in how shocked Sokka looks, and how terrified the Fire Nation soldiers are.

They've just seen a ghost. A fire breathing ghost.

Most of them drop out of their firebending stances and_ run_, determined to escape from the Prince Who is Supposed to Be Dead. The more fearless ones soon find themselves outnumbered, and they run too.

It wasn't much of a fight, really, but as the soldiers who used to serve him take off, he watches their backs and does not follow.

There are bodies lying around his feet.

Something triggers, and his breathing feels shallow and harsh. He turns, not bothering to listen to Sokka's shouts, and makes his way out of the clearing, trying to erase the smell of death as it begins to creep upon him.

Just as he enters the shade, Sokka is there, dragging Toph along behind him. June isn't in sight.

Red is seeping through the blind girl's grin tunic, and Zuko can see the panic and fear written across Sokka's face. Toph groans in pain, face twisted, and Sokka pushes her tunic up with trembling fingers.

There's a deep, deep gash cutting across her torso where she was obviously stabbed.

Memories flood into Zuko's thoughts, but he pushes them back, refusing to become light headed.

Toph is gasping, breaths shallow, and she lets out a little sob before she grits her teeth together in a false show of strength.

Sokka turns alarmed eyes up to him. "What do we do?!"

Zuko's stomach coils. "I don't know," he answers honestly. "Her wound…is deep."

Sokka turns his head away from him, angry and scared and hopeless and Zuko cannot bring himself to look away.

Why does everything crumble in the end?

Toph grows paler and paler as she bleeds and Zuko thinks that maybe he should tell her to close her eyes before remembering that Toph will die in the darkness no matter what.

That hurts. That hurts, and he hadn't even realized that he was fond of this girl.

And then Toph cries out and Zuko furrows his eyebrows. That's when the earthbender's blood starts acting funny. It stops.

It stops bleeding.

And then it turns, heading toward the gash, like a red river being sucked back into its hiding place. Toph's milky eyes are wide and she swears, grabbing onto to Sokka's arm. "What's happening?" she says, voice frantic. "I don't understand!"

The blood is pulled back into the wound, but the gash is still open. Zuko smacks Sokka's elbow. "Needle and thread," he breathes out. And Sokka is gone, heading toward their makeshift campsite and their packs.

Zuko turns toward the clearing, hands already reaching for his daggers. He's expecting June. He's expecting a demon. He's not sure what he's expecting.

But there she is, fingers and arms twisted into some unnatural pose and it's like his whole body _heaves _with the overwhelming sight of her. Her hair is cropped short against her head and her eyes, her _eyes,_ they are like a storm and Zuko nearly falls to his knees.

The girl with the scars is still alive.

* * *

**A/N:**

***looks at the ceiling and whistles***

**Reviews? :D**


	6. Thorny

**I was made to keep your body warm****  
But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms**

**I've been feeling everything**  
**From hate to love**  
**From love to lust**  
**From lust to truth**  
**I guess that's how I know you**

**—"Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran**

* * *

Zuko opens his mouth to say her name, but the words don't come. Instead, he coughs, gaze pinned to her, and Katara's eyes go wide as she notices him, properly notices him.

He watches as she takes a hesitant step forward and Zuko briefly wonders if he should go to her, if he should touch her, if he should yell at her or _kiss_ her—

Or run away. Because she cannot be anything but a ghost.

The decision is made for him. He doesn't get to do anything, because a second later he hears a pack being dropped to the ground. There's a beat and then Sokka is shoving past Zuko in his haste to get to his newly discovered little sister.

"_Katara_." Sokka's voice is cracking, and soon the waterbender is being swept up into his arms and squeezed tightly against her brother's chest.

Katara's blue eyes peer at Zuko for a moment before they flutter shut. He sees tears slip down her scarred cheek, sees her return Sokka's hug.

There's a loud groan, followed by swearing coming from behind him. All the amazement drains out of Zuko's body and he sighs, turning around and grabbing the pack that Sokka dropped.

"I haven't forgotten about you, you annoying pest," he says as he bends down next to Toph, pulling needle and thread out of the pack.

"Have you ever stitched someone up before?" she asks, voice pained, forehead shining with sweat.

"Nope." He holds up a finger, calling a flame and quickly sterilizing the needle. "This will hurt."

"At least I'm not dead," Toph huffs, chest heaving a little bit. "You gonna tell me what the fuck happened?"

Zuko threads the needle and tilts his head down, eyeing the wound. It's gaping, but it isn't bleeding. "No clue," he admits, forcing himself to not glance in Katara's direction.

Concentrating, he begins to sew the wound closed. He ignores the churning of his stomach and the way that Toph's fingers curl into the earth.

After a couple of minutes Zuko feels two people standing behind him.

"Did you clean the wound first?"

Her voice brings back what feels like a thousand memories, some of them he'd like to forget. She still sounds as stubborn as ever.

"And _what_ would I have cleaned it with?" he barks.

They're first words he spoken to her in months, and he still manages to sound like an ass.

He hears Katara's sharp intake of breath and Toph laughs.

"Ah, a lover's reunion indeed." She pauses to wince. "I missed you, Sweetness."

"I missed you, too," Katara says, crouching down beside Zuko and watching as he slowly finishes stitching Toph up. She places a comforting hand against her shoulder as Zuko ties off the thread.

Zuko cannot look at her when he stands back up.

They leave. It wouldn't be smart to linger near the field where the battle took place.

Katara leads, steps surefooted and soft, with Sokka right behind her, his arm around Toph as he helps her walk.

Zuko takes up the rear some twenty steps back, his pace slow and casual as he thinks, small flask of whiskey in hand.

Funny, how he'd drink to forget her. Now she's here, _here_, and he wants nothing more than to be completely incoherent. He sips, the drink burning down his throat, and wonders if anyone would notice if he turned around and doubled back.

This Katara is different from the one that he'd known before. She's not timid anymore, not fearful, and she walks with steady steps, scars out on display for all to see. Zuko wonders what's happened to her in the past six months to make her this way.

And the thing she did with Toph's blood…

He has to admit that she's much more intimidating then before.

"Are you even trying to keep up?" Toph yells at him from over her shoulder.

Zuko slows down on purpose.

* * *

The others eat dried meat by a campfire that Zuko made for them.

He sits off to the side, eyes cast downward. There's quiet talking from the other three and for some reason this angers him.

He'd dreamed of a reunion, a real reunion, where she'd be back by his side, warm and comforting and alive. And maybe Zuko would've told her that he'd missed her, that he'd grown to hate falling asleep without her by his side. That'd he'd put up with her idiot brother for weeks for _her_.

That'd he'd killed for her.

But he doubted she'd appreciate that last part.

He glances up at her, takes in how her now short hair barely falls to the tips of her ears, takes in how she's talking with Sokka about things that probably wouldn't matter much to Zuko in context. But he wants to know what it is because it's coming from _her_ lips.

All the feelings are rushing back to him, and they're choking.

He stands up and walks out of their little clearing, ignoring Sokka as he calls out after him.

Truth is, Zuko wants Katara all to himself, but things are different now. His relationship with her will never be the same. Whatever their relationship even _is_.

He makes himself comfortable against the bark of a tree and ignites a small fireball. He tosses it between his hands to keep himself entertained. That's how he falls asleep.

* * *

Zuko awakens to someone brushing hair away from his face. His fingers encircle around the offending wrist instantly, but he quickly releases it when he sees who it belongs to.

"Sorry," she says, voice quiet. "I didn't mean to startle you."

And despite the fact that Katara is never far away from his thoughts, he still finds himself brushing her off, lashing out. "It's fine," he grumbles, resettling himself against the tree.

Katara pulls her hand away, eyes narrowing in confusion. The moonlight shines off of her form and Zuko clenches his jaw. She rolls onto the balls of her feet and studies him. "Why'd you wander off?" she asks.

He shrugs.

When she reaches out to touch him again he turns his body away.

"_Why _are you being like this, Zuko?" she exclaims, and his chest constricts.

"I don't know."

But then the frustration comes rushing over him like a massive wave, and he immediately shifts, getting to his feet. "It's been six months, Katara."

"Zuko—"

"Six months, and I haven't heard a thing from you until now."

"_Zuko_—"

"_Six months_—"

"I had no idea you were _alive_!" she shouts, and there is anguish there. "I woke up and they told me that you'd burned down your room with you and your sister in it!" Her eyes swim with unshed tears. Zuko watches, stunned, as she wipes them away with obvious frustration.

Now he feels foolish.

"Katara—"

"I thought you were dead, too. You didn't think that this morning was any less harrowing for me? You were some fire breathing, dragon phantom!" She has stood up as well, glaring up at him.

Just like old times.

"And you can bend blood," Zuko finally says.

She looks away, mouth a thin line, before she nods. "Yeah, I can bend blood."

"Huh."

And then he says what's been bothering him for ages.

"I saw you get stabbed." His voice wavers, and there is a weight sitting where his lungs are supposed to be. "Azula, she—she grabbed a sword and she ran you through. I saw it. I saw you—your blood—"

Katara looks sad, sadder than he's ever seen her before. She raises up her tunic and right underneath her chest wrap, right between her ribs, is a jagged, hideous scar.

"How—"

"I'll tell you sometime soon, okay? But not now. Not… not now."

Zuko frowns, but accepts her answer. For the time being. He almost reaches out and traces a fingertip against the new scar. "Another one for your collection," he jokes, remembering a happier time.

Katara chokes out something that sounds an awful lot like a sob.

Zuko ducks his head a little, watching as she lets her tunic fall back into place. They are close, so close that when the wind picks up it causes his hair to brush against her forehead.

"What happened to your hair?" he asks softly.

The blue in Katara's eyes is barely discernible in the night. But he knows that it _is _there and that her eyes are close. It comforts him.

"I don't feel the need to hide anymore."

Zuko pulls back a little, eyes taking in every part of her face, her lovely face. He sees it now as it truly is, as it is meant to be seen. Scars and all.

She walks away sometime later, back to the camp. He's alone again and he slips to the forest floor with the overwhelming urge to gag.

People aren't supposed to fall back in love with ghosts.

* * *

The gentle, streaming sunlight doesn't wake him up. Toph bending a large rock into his side does.

Zuko swears loudly and rolls quickly into a standing position, fists aflame, before remembering himself and extinguishing them.

"Go ahead and bend!" Sokka exclaims, standing right behind Toph. "After the fire breathing stunt you pulled yesterday, it won't be long before everyone knows that you didn't kick the bucket."

Zuko risks a glance in Katara's direction. She's next to her brother, inspecting her pack. But Zuko can tell that she's simply avoiding eye contact.

Swallowing, the ex-prince runs a hand through his filthy hair and sighs. "Whatever." Just thinking about people recognizing him outside of the Fire Nation is giving him a headache. "I'd rather not have it all out on display."

Sokka shrugs, indifferent, and tugs on both Toph and Katara's elbows. "So, where are we off to? Rebel camps? Hidden armies that are stirring up epic rebellions?" He pauses. "The South Pole?"

Katara looks up at Zuko for a millisecond. "Where were _you _thinking of going?"

But Zuko doesn't answer. There's no point. Sokka will do it for him.

"He'll go back to the White Lotus, won't you." Sokka eyes Zuko hard, jaw set in a firm line. "He came along to help me find my sister. And he did. Sort of."

"So?" Katara's dark eyebrows have furrowed in confusion.

"What Boomerang here is trying to say, is that Fire Prince Zuko has been officially kicked out of the group. I know you died and all, but you gotta keep up."

Katara huffs. "I didn't _die_—"

"It's fine," Zuko interrupts. "I get it. I'll go back to the White Lotus. I'll say hello to your Avatar for you."

"Spirits, Zuko, his name is _Aang_."

"Whatever."

"Wait!" Katara waves her arms around, trying to catch everyone's attention. "The _Avatar_? I thought that that was just a rumor."

Sokka, looking sheepish, rubs the back of his neck. "I discovered him about nine months ago. Sorry. I forgot to mention it."

"You _forgot to mention_ that you found the Avatar?!"

"That's because I found _you_, and you've been missing practically as long as the Avatar, whose name is Aang, by the way."

"Sokka, be serious—"

And Zuko, who has become unnoticed, slides his feet back and disappears behind the tree. He takes in every inch of her before he leaves, because who knows when he'll see her next. Months of searching, and this is all he'll get.

For some reason, he is at peace with this. He and Katara have always played for different sides, have always believed different things, and even back then she was never _his_.

She's especially isn't his now. But it's not the same. Nothing ever stays the same. Change…

Zuko hates change.

He turns his back on the little rag-tag group, intent on sneaking away while they're arguing. He's never been one for goodbyes.

"And where the hell do you think _you're_ going?"

Zuko stiffens, then winces. He also hates the earthbender for always noticing his footsteps. He turns around to see one accusatory pair of blue eyes staring at him.

"You don't have to go, Zuko," Katara says quietly.

"Yes, he does." Sokka sniffs haughtily and pulls his pack higher up on his shoulder.

Katara bites her lip and looks back and forth between the two young men. Then she clears her throat. "Zuko, you've lost some weight."

Blinking in confusion, Zuko glances down at his clothes and his lean form. Leaner then what she probably last remembered, but still. He's still solid, could still take care of himself in a fight.

Could still take care of _her_.

But that is neither here nor there.

"It's all the peasant fodder," he snaps. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

Katara pulls a bag of coins from her pack.

Sokka lets out a very unmanly squeak. "Where'd you get _that_?"

She shrugs, nonchalant. "A benefactor."

Sokka's mouth is still gaping. "A _what_?"

Katara shrugs again. "Someone who believes in what I can do."

"And what _can_ you do? Because all I've seen you do so far is manipulate Toph's blood. I certainly didn't see you do anything on the battlefield." Zuko points out, and suddenly he and Katara are back in her own room at the palace, having a stand off. His blood rushes and he smirks.

And, to his surprise, she smirks back.

She steps forward, in front of Toph, and sweeps her arms in a sharp, elegant arc. All the trees within a five feet radius blacken and die, but a large sphere of water now stirs above all their heads. Katara's eyes are wide and alive and feral. Zuko doesn't step back, but his smirk softens into an actual smile.

Katara lets the water drop and it splashes to the ground, soaking Zuko's boots. He narrows his eyes and she blinks at him innocently.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Sokka questions.

Katara answers him, but does not take her gaze off of Zuko. "I was rescued by a very powerful teacher."

Zuko scoffs. Like that explains anything.

* * *

Katara manages to lead them to a shabby inn not too far away. She books them two rooms for the night. One for her and Sokka, another for Toph and Zuko. Sokka eyes Zuko hard as Katara gives the innkeeper a couple of coins for their dinner as well as their board.

"Don't even _think _about hooking up with Toph tonight, got it? No hanky panky."

Both Zuko and the earthbender laugh uproariously at this, drawing the attention of everyone else sitting around the make shift dining tables.

Toph gives Sokka a pat on the shoulder. "You paranoid shit," she wheezes. Her own shoulders shake and then she peels off into laughter again. "Like I'd touch the prince here with a ten foot pole. I'd catch something."

Zuko can't help but snort himself when he notices the irritated look that Katara is now giving her brother.

"What?" he says, holding his hands up. "It's just a warning! It's just in case."

The corners of Toph's mouth have curled up in amusement. "Sokka, your crush on me is showing."

Sokka's cheeks turn a deep red and he coughs awkwardly. Then he has the audacity to glance at Zuko, using his eyes to ask for back up.

But Zuko is already shaking his head and following Toph up the stairs.

He can feel Katara's eyes burning into back, into his skin, the entire way.

* * *

"Not the beautiful reunion you thought it'd be, huh?"

"Seriously, Toph, _shut up_."

They're both lying in their respective beds, and Zuko has been trying to sleep, despite the fact that he hadn't had much of an appetite by the time dinner had rolled around. Now his stomach is rumbling uncomfortably.

"I'm just sayin'. You managed to fuck up pretty fast, if she's already basically ignoring you."

Zuko sighs, not particularly wanting to go into details about his lack-of-relationship problems. "It's not like that."

"Sure."

Zuko shifts on top of the bed and rolls over onto his side, effectively presenting the earthbender with his back. He nearly groans when he remembers that she's blind and that it won't matter.

"She tell you how she managed not to die yet?"

"Nope."

"I keep forgetting to ask, too. Plus, I wanna know how she managed to avoid Nala's nose for so long. June and I should've discovered her by now. Not that that matters since none of us even know where June_ is_."

"She's hopefully dead."

"Nah. She probably got caught up in the fight and made her way back with some other rebels. She's roguish like that."

"Toph, I really don't care."

"Not even about how Katara managed to be death defying?"

Zuko grits his teeth in frustration. "She'll tell me in her own time. There's got to be some explainable reason as to why she's still alive."

"You said you saw her get run right through, though."

"Toph—"

"She was lying in a pool of her own blood before one of her guards dragged her away. People don't typically survive that, you know."

"_Toph_—"

"Maybe someone got to her in time and bent her blood, kind of like what happened to me—"

"Shut up!" he roars, rolling onto his feet, fingers burning with hot flames. "Or I _swear _I'll hurt you."

Toph tilts her head in his direction, rolling her eyes. "_Please_."

"I've done it before," he reminds her, thinking back on a different time. He'd left her with welts.

She moves her shoulder against the bed in a shrug. "Yeah, well, you're different now."

"No, I'm not," Zuko argues.

"You used to be cruel," Toph points out. "But now you're just bitter."

Zuko swallows, lowering his hand. She's right. They both know that she's right. He turns and makes his way to the door instead of climbing back into his bed.

"Where are you going?" Toph calls out.

"Where do you think?"

* * *

Zuko hasn't touched his drink yet. It's amber and it sits in a dirty glass, and even though Zuko knows that he should just toss it back and then clamor up the stairs and back to bed, he can't bring himself to.

Someone slips into the stool next to him and he swivels to face them, intent on barking at them to leave.

But it's her.

Zuko stills, nibbling on the inside of his cheek briefly before turning away. He says nothing to her, and she also greets him with silence.

The bartender approaches her and asks her what she's having.

Katara is quiet for a moment as she considers. "I'll have whatever he's having," she states, jerking a thumb in Zuko's direction.

The bartender raises an impressed eyebrow before wandering off to grab her drink.

Zuko eyes her thumb. "It's rude to point."

She is watching him, blue eyes flicking over his face. She finally says, "Can't sleep?" The statement sounds weak to both their ears.

"Obviously not."

The bartender slides Katara's drink to her and she wraps her fingers around it, staring down at the liquid intently. Then she takes a sip before spluttering and wincing.

Zuko can't help but smile. "It's not _tea_, idiot."

"I know that," she snaps back, face a little pale as she gags. "How do you drink that stuff?"

He finally tosses his own drink back, proudly managing not to grimace. It's more to prove a point than anything else. "You get used to it."

She frowns at this. Her scars and her frown complement each other, he thinks. Together they make her look fierce, strong, and ever so slightly unapproachable. She looks a little sinister this way, a far cry from the girl who used to use her long, wavy hair as a shield in order to hide herself. And perhaps _from_ herself.

"I don't remember your drinking problem being _quite_ like this."

One side of his mouth curls up. "It was. I was just more charismatic about it."

Katara's frown deepens. "And now you just don't give a shit?"

"Something like that."

"What happened to you?" she breathes, frown fading away to be replaced by a concerned expression. Zuko sees the way her fingers curl along the edge of the countertop, as if she's restraining herself from reaching out and touching him.

"My sister murdered you and then I murdered my sister." He keeps his voice low, keeps it quiet, but there's echo in the way that he says the words, as if they're nothing more than dead space.

Katara isn't the only one who can practice restraint.

"What happened to _you_?" he asks back before she can say anything. He means for the question to come off as banter, but she doesn't take it that way.

She leans back, tilts her whole body away from him. "I thought I was dead, and then I thought _you_ were dead." She sounds wispy and sad, and Zuko feels his hands form fists.

They don't speak for awhile.

Eventually Zuko reaches over and swallows Katara's drink, trying to ignore the disapproving glint in her gaze.

"Where will you go in the morning?" she asks, and Zuko realizes how deadly quiet it is. Aside from one or two other patrons, they are the only ones in the tiny lobby.

His throat feels thick. "Go back to the White Lotus, back to my uncle, I suppose. I helped Sokka with his quest, and it's not like any of us owe each other anything."

"Zuko—"

"You were leaving anyway, Katara, remember?"

She jerks her head away as if he's struck her. "Just because I was leaving doesn't mean that it didn't _kill me_ to do so."

He turns his head away. "Sure."

"It was the best decision for me and you know it."

He makes a non-committal noise.

And suddenly her hand is gripping his jaw none-too-gently. She turns his head so that he's facing her. Katara's gaze is ferocious. There's a brief, mad moment where he thinks that she'd make one hell of a Fire Lady.

But that's a future that he knows he'll never see.

"You don't have to go back, you know. You could come with us."

"To fight with the rebels against my father? No, thank you. Toph already tried to convince me."

Her mouth quirks. "But I'm not Toph."

Zuko pulls in a sharp breath. She's right, of course.

"And whose side do you think the White Lotus is on?" she continues, and he wonders if she's noticed the way her grip on his jaw has softened. Now she's just holding onto him.

"There's so much to fight for, Zuko. So many good things about this world that you don't know because…because…"

"Because what?" Zuko prompts.

Katara sighs, breath ghosting over his cheek. "Because you've been brainwashed by the Fire Nation government, by your father and your grandfather and your great-grandfather. The four nations were meant to live separately, but in peaceful unity."

Zuko pulls his head back and Katara's fingertips fall away from his jaw. He watches as she hesitates before biting her bottom lip in earnest.

"I know that this would be hard, turning against your father—"

"Already killed my sister."

Her eyes narrow. "But you'd see in the end that it's what's best. I know you would. If we can secure the right weapons—"

"And what kind of weapons do you have that could even _hope_ to defeat Fire Nation weapons?" he asks, voice a bit mocking.

"Dragons," she says, completely serious.

"You're crazy."

But by the way her expression remains the same, Zuko realizes that she's not joking.

"There's been rumors circling for ages now, since before I came to the Earth Kingdom. If we could find them—"

"Then what? What would we do once we found creatures who _no longer exist_?"

She takes his hand in hers and his mind whirls. "Then we would fight fire with fire."

Zuko shakes his head. "My uncle destroyed the remaining dragons—"

"Maybe not."

"Katara, I—"

"_Katara_."

She jumps a little in her seat and then quickly lets go of Zuko's hand. Sokka is standing at the base of the steps, hands on his nonexistent hips, looking like a put out grandmother. "Do you know what time it is?"

Katara swallows before looking Zuko right in the eye. "I want you to come, Zuko. I don't want you to leave," she whispers.

Suddenly Zuko feels bone tired and empty, as if all his emotions have been drained out of him. It feels different then being pulled in what felt like hundreds of different directions, like before. Definitely different, but he can't name the feeling.

He is _exhausted_, though.

Still ignoring her brother, and still staring at him, Katara's eyes shine a little brighter than before. Zuko isn't sure if it's because of tears. "Zuko, I—"

"Katara!"

"I'll see you in the morning," Zuko says, not meaning it to sound like the dismissal that it is.

He wishes he didn't see her soft expression harden.

* * *

Toph is clearly irritated with him.

"She's the reason why you came all this way in the first place, and now you're considering not going with her? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Zuko doesn't answer. His whole body aches with feelings that he doesn't understand. He hadn't slept a wink the night before, despite the drinking, and despite the overwhelming need to escape from everything.

"She'd be better off without me," he finally admits.

He's not too shocked when Toph slaps him sharply across the face, nail brushing against the tip of his nose.

"Snap out of it and quit being so pathetic! Ugh, I almost_ miss_ the old you! At least the old you acted like you were worth something back then!"

Toph leaves, slamming the door behind her.

And after a brief moment, Zuko follows.

When he sees Katara waiting at the bottom of the stairs, he pulls his pack up on his shoulder.

He wonders if all lives have purposes. Before, he was a prince. Now… now he's not sure what he is, or who he is, or what he's supposed to do.

But he knows he only has one direction he needs from here on out.

Zuko memorizes the way Katara tries to hide her excitement when she understands that he's going to tag along. She smacks Sokka's arm when the boomerang boy moans and whines, and manages to school her face into a professional look when Zuko stops in front of her.

"Ready to find the weapons?"

And Zuko realizes that he hasn't fallen back in love with a ghost, because he never fell out of love in the first place.

He almost smiles. "Whatever."

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry for the delay in this update! I get distracted a lot, as most of you guys know.

I know, dragons. I've been watching too much Game of Thrones. But, whatever. Dragons are fucking awesome. The gang should count their lucky stars if they manage to discover them.

The Katara/Zuko relationship turned out to be much more complicated than I thought it would be (though I should have suspected it). Lots have things have changed, including are twosome.

Also, there was a throwaway line that majorly foreshadowed what's going to occur. Go ahead, make your predictions. ;)

I hope everyone liked. Leave me your thoughts, please?


	7. Skermish

**I don't know where I've been, what I've done****  
I am the once now irreplaceable son  
I'm antichrist in your home  
I'll come around this time to let you suck from my soul**

**—"April Fool" by Manchester Orchestra**

* * *

_The wind brings with it the smell of fresh cherry blossoms._

_Mother takes Zuko and Azula to these special gardens every once in awhile. They reside just north of the palace, reserved especially for the enjoyment of the royal family and nobles who are deemed worthy enough._

_Mother is sitting on a blanket, lunch dishes spread out before her. Zuko watches as she offers Azula a dumpling, and his younger sister shakes her head, mouth thin._

_Like Azula could ever appreciate something as lovely as a picnic in a beautiful garden._

_Zuko pushes himself up onto the ball of his right foot, twisting and coming down into a mock firebending stance. His balance wavers, though, and he hears his sister scoff._

_She makes to stand up, but Mother places a hand onto her knee and gives her a sharp look. "I said no bending, Azula."_

_Zuko's sister narrows her golden eyes at Ursa, before sharply turning her head away. "But you're letting __**him**__ bend!"_

"_Because Zuko is older and more responsible."_

"_But I'm the better bender!" Azula points out, eyebrows furrowed with irritation. "Everyone knows that."_

"_Azula!"_

"_It's fine." Zuko shakes his head, cutting off whatever his mother had been about to say. A harsher breeze ruffles his hair and pulls blossoms away from the cherry trees. They tumble and blow along with the wind._

_Azula laughs when one smacks him in the eye._

_Grumbling, Zuko slumps down next to his mother on the picnic blanket, glowering at the prepared food that he has no intention of eating. He listens as his mother talks about family, and their schoolwork and how Azula will need a new dress made for some upcoming banquet._

_Azula crosses her arms at that. Both siblings know that nothing Azula says will change their mother's opinion of what she should be, as a princess._

_This is great for Zuko; it keeps his sister out of his way. But something darkens in Azula's eyes whenever Ursa mentions what is expected of her—such as what she'll study and who she might have to marry._

_Right now Zuko almost feels sorry for Azula._

_The sky overhead is growing gray with promised rain and the breeze grows even stronger._

_A blossom brushes up against Zuko's shoe and he plucks it from the ground, feeling its velvety texture between his fingertips._

_He sees the stony look on Azula's face as their mother talks of court politics amongst the noblewomen and their daughters, and before Zuko can realize what he's doing, he hands the blossom to his sister._

_She looks surprised for a moment, shocked even, before she quickly masks it with a look of disgust. She snatches it from his hand, her palm leaving a stinging sensation against his own._

"_Azula, your brother was just trying to do something nice for you—"_

"_It's just a silly flower," Azula snaps, and Zuko cannot bring himself to feel hurt. This is their routine; this is their relationship._

_On the walk back to the waiting palanquin, he notices something clutched in Azula's hand._

_It is a crushed up cherry blossom. Zuko watches out of the corner of his eye as she subtly brings her hand to her nose and inhales._

_He is still a child, and doesn't yet wonder why someone so young should feel like smelling a flower is a weakness._

_The palanquin comes into sight and their mother mentions something about getting back to the palace quickly in order to beat the storm._

_Azula doubles over, clutching at her bruising neck. When her skin breaks out in burning, red blisters, Zuko doesn't bat an eye._

* * *

Zuko doesn't feel well.

He suspects it's because he doesn't eat much, and drinks almost nothing but whiskey.

But this afternoon he is neither hungry nor drunk.

He's just very, very irritated.

Sokka was annoying enough when it was just him and Zuko.

Now it's Sokka and Toph and Katara and Zuko.

And everyone else's ongoing party banter is starting to get on his hungover nerves.

"Here's an idea," he begins, and the rest of the party turn their heads back to watch him with already irritated gazes. "Why don't we all be quiet? And whoever manages to stay quiet the longest won't get punched in the face."

Sokka rolls his eyes and turns his head to face the front. "Why did we bring him along, again?"

"I don't know." Toph shrugs and smirks, her typical combo. "I think he adds some melancholy to the mix. Too much cheerfulness is bad for you, I hear. Everyone needs that miserable friend to make them feel better about themselves!"

Sokka laughs and Zuko frowns, but Katara slows her pace until she and Zuko are waling shoulder to shoulder.

"You could smile," she points out. "Or smirk. Or whatever it is that you do with your face."

Zuko shakes his head, black bangs falling into his eyes. He jerks his head, flinging them away in a sharp movement and Katara covers her mouth and laughs.

"What?"

"Nothing. You just…look funny when you do that."

Zuko says nothing in reply and watches the leaves and green grass as they crunch underneath his feet. They're still in the Earth Kingdom, but they grow closer and closer to the outskirts of the Fire Nation with every step. And now that word has probably gotten out about the fact that he isn't dead, Zuko has even more things to be wary about.

"And you know where we're going?" He's asked Katara this every day since they left the hotel a week ago.

Usually Katara scoffs at him, or smacks his shoulder. This time she stops walking all together.

"Do you _really_ think that I can't do this? Do you really think that I won't be able to find the dragons?" Her voice has gone slightly shrill with her anger.

"Considering that dragons are extinct, _no_ I _don't_ think you can actually find the dragons."

The look she gives him is so severe that he wishes he'd just kept quiet.

But keeping his mouth shut is not a talent that Zuko possesses.

"I thought you came along because you wanted to utilize these weapons! I thought that you actually might've wanted to—I—"

"That's what you thought? I assumed he came along because you both still want to fuck each other," Toph offers up, pressing her feet into the earth in obvious boredom. "So can we move it along? Or are you two not done yet?"

Katara's scarred face has turned burgundy. Zuko isn't used to seeing her entire face blush. Usually half of it is curtained with hair.

Katara huffs and presses her lips together, shoving past Zuko in obvious annoyance and taking the lead again.

A moment later and it is Toph that falls into step next to him.

"Seriously though," she says, voice low so the others won't overhear, "what's up with you?"

Zuko swallows but says nothing, and soon Toph nods, taking his silence as her answer.

They are surrounded by cherry trees.

* * *

Dinner is tense that night.

Zuko spoons white rice into his mouth and chews without really tasting anything. His mind is on other things, things like dragons, and whiskey, and scarred waterbenders.

He swallows and his stomach twists.

There is a quiet conversation going on between Sokka and Toph, and every once in awhile the young man will snort and shake his head at whatever joke the earthbender has cracked.

Katara, however, is fuming. Just like Zuko.

When Zuko finally finishes his meal he sets the bowl aside and stands up and makes his way into the tall grass. The moon is out, but the heat and humidity is oppressing. They'll be in the Fire Nation within a couple of days.

And keeping his identity under wraps will become impossible.

He hears soft footsteps padding behind him and he sighs, crossing his arms and turning around.

Katara looks irritated and put out and Zuko wonders how someone so slight and annoying could have consumed so much of his life.

"If you're so unhappy here, you could just go." Her voice doesn't waver, and her expression is nearly unreadable, but Zuko can see the way her eyes won't meet his.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asks simply, already knowing the answer.

Katara balks, sliding back a step. "That's not what I meant. I just… I just thought that maybe, traveling together and—and going on this journey, that maybe things—"

"Would go back to the way they were?"

She presses her lips together and shifts her weight from foot to foot. Then she shakes her head and makes eye contact. "Things will never be the way they were. I'm starting to get that."

The former prince stands still for a moment, mind feeling clear and steady for the first time all evening. He shakes his head, giving her an answer that neither of them likes.

Katara nods in acceptance and opens her mouth to say something else—

There's a flash of movement and Zuko reaches for his daggers a moment too late. He sees the large shadow move to envelop Katara, and before he can properly think, he rushes forward, knocking Katara to the ground and shielding her with his own body.

A sharp pain tears along his right arm and soon he feels hot blood running down to his elbow.

He grabs for his knife and raises his hand, intent to strike down whatever is preying on them.

Until he sees Cuddles.

And he _hates _Sokka for giving the cat that stupid name.

"What the _fuck_!" he shouts, lifting himself up so that Katara can roll out from underneath him. She gets to her feet quickly, arms jutting forward. A moment later water swirls around them protectively.

"It's all right," Zuko grumbles, stumbling to his feet and cradling his arm. "This stupid cat is—Wait, you followed me?"

Cuddles tilts her head and sits down on her haunches, feline eyes nearly glowing under the moon.

"You have a pet puma?" Katara's blue eyes have gone wide and she steps forward, letting the water crash to the earth.

Seconds later Toph and Sokka rush into the tiny clearing.

"Oh look, Cuddles! Yay!"

"Shut up, Captain Boomerang."

"She looks hungry," Katara observes, crouching down a couple of feet away from the great cat. "Sokka, give her some of your dried meat."

And Sokka's entire body stiffens. "But it's the last that I have."

"What do you mean it's the last that you have?! That dried meat was supposed to last us another two days!"

Sokka taps his fingertips together and gives Katara his most diplomatic look. "I was not under that impression, and since I need the protein more than anyone else in this rag tag group of—"

"Just give the damn cat your meat, idiot," demands the earthbender.

And since Toph seems to be the only person Sokka will properly listen to, the Water Tribesman lets out a forlorn sigh and reaches into his pack. He pulls out the jerky and tosses it quickly to the ground before he can change his mind.

Cuddles leaps onto it.

"Poor thing," Katara crones, hesitantly reaching out and running a finger along the cat's clearly visible ribs. "How did you find her?"

Zuko shrugs. "Started following me. Thought we'd lost her, actually."

"So, does this make her like, our pet?" Sokka asks, eyeing the half eaten jerky with clear longing. "Are we going to have to feed her?"

"She'll probably eat less then you do, which is a plus," Zuko points out, causing Toph to snort.

"Oh, ha ha. Let's mock a guy and his appetite."

"You do eat more than the average human being, Snozzles."

"That's open to debate and _don't_ call me that—"

Zuko turns his complete attention onto the cat and shuts out the rest of the noise. He watches her finish her small meal before running his hand along her back. Cuddles arches into his touch before lowering her weight onto the ground, eyes closed in contentment.

Zuko can feel the burning of Katara's blue eyes as they watch him. He wishes he knew what was going on in her head.

And more than anything, he wishes that things were different.

* * *

"This village is the last Earth Kingdom village that we'll see before crossing Fire Nation borders." Katara's eyes are narrowed as she watches the comings and goings of the village people as they go about their daily routines. "We should be able to pick up a few supplies here, maybe get a decent night's sleep."

Sokka is staring at his sister with open admiration. "Where in La's name did you learn all this?"

Katara shrugs in what's supposed to be nonchalance, but Zuko can tell from the slight upper tilt of her mouth that she's pleased by the intended compliment.

"I picked up a lot when I was with Jun, that's all."

A silence descends on the four of them, as no one wants to mention what might've become of Jun. Not that Zuko particularly frets over what happened to her, aggravating bitch.

But he intelligently decides not to mention this.

"So, what are we hiding in these bushes for?" Toph asks, entertaining herself by molding clumps of earth between her hands.

Katara's eyebrows furrow in concentration. "Well, with the Fire Nation military now aware that Zuko is technically alive, we have to be careful. We don't know what they might do to him."

Zuko rolls his eyes. They'll probably capture him and drag him in front of his father. Whether or not Ozai will pretend to be happy to see him is a mystery that Zuko doesn't want to solve.

"Let's just go in," he says, voice low. "It's better than sitting out here and doing nothing."

Katara nods and Sokka gives him a funny look, and a moment later everyone is maneuvering out of the bushes and heading toward the village.

Reassuringly enough, none of the villagers look at them twice as the walk down the main street. Sokka immediately excuses himself as soon as he spots the village butcher, and Toph follows along in order to "keep an eye on him."

Leaving Zuko and Katara properly alone.

They stand together awkwardly for a moment before Katara gestures toward a fruit stand, mentioning something about finally getting tropical fruits in this climate.

But the hair on the back of Zuko's neck has stood up. He wishes that he hadn't left Cuddles on the outskirts of the village. Her presence would be comforting right now, if eye drawing.

And then multiple things happen at once. He spots red and black uniforms forming along the entire street, and before he can blink a swirling fireball comes barreling towards his face.

He redirects it with a quick swipe of his hand, effectively bending in front of all these people.

He groans and someone shouts, "It's Fire Prince Zuko!"

Zuko barely has a moment to swear and reach for his daggers before Katara is grabbing the hem of his tunic and yanking him behind the fruit stand. As they turn the corner she kicks at a wooden peg holding up the cart with her foot, sending the fruit scattering across the street and causing soldiers to trip over their own feet.

Zuko half expects her to send a "Sorry!" over her shoulder at the merchant. She doesn't.

They bolt through the marketplace, villagers leaping to the side in order to get out of their way. Zuko sticks out two fingers behind him and focuses, producing a small stream of flame at the soldiers who are nipping at their heels.

"Got a plan?" Katara says, chest heaving with the exertion, before gracefully hopping over a puddle.

Zuko just sloshes through it.

"Nope."

There are shouts and then soldiers appear directly in front of them, content to cut off their path. Zuko grabs Katara's wrist and yanks her to the right—

Effectively trapping them in a back alley.

"_Shit_." He whirls around and swiftly steps in front of Katara, although she's kicked over two barrels of rain water and is using the liquid to form long, sharp shards of ice.

Ozai's soldiers immediately spot them and slow their pace, as if knowing that their prey aren't going anywhere.

"Why does your father want you captured so badly?" Katara hisses, arms raised in front of her face protectively. "I thought the two of you got along?"

"Yeah, well, that was before I murdered my sister and partially burned down the palace."

"Fire Prince Zuko!" A young man who is broader and taller than all the rest step forward. He holds no fire in his hands, nor a weapon, and Zuko instantly recognizes him as the leader.

The man smirks. "Your father has been searching for you for quite some time."

Zuko furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "Quite some time?"

The man's smirk deepens. "That would be correct."

"And you expect me to come quietly, then?"

"I would expect nothing of the sort from the likes of you."

And Zuko…Zuko smiles. "Good."

He goes for his daggers, twirling them with his fingers with practiced ease as he prepares his body for combat. The other soldiers laugh under the breaths and Zuko knows exactly what they're thinking. Why would he fight with weapons when he could just bend?

With barely a thought and a flick of concentration, flames soon lick along the steel of his blades and, grinning, Zuko ducks and dodges the first phase of attacks with fire embraced daggers. And then he throws, hands going through the motions smoothly. One dagger lands in a soldier's neck, the other a chest.

Then he pivots around another attack before throwing all of his weight onto one hand, scissoring fire with his legs. He hears screams, smells burning flesh, and he shouldn't relish killing like this. But he does.

Katara seems to be faring well. He hears the rush of water every now and again, but he doesn't stop. It's been ages since he's allowed himself to bend like this, allowed himself to _move_ like this, and he hadn't realized how much he's missed his own fire.

He slips on blood, and as he moves to steady himself someone jumps on his temporary weakness. They quickly pin him to the ground and press a blade forcefully against his throat. It's the smirking young man from just moments before. Up close, Zuko notices that one of his eyebrows has been burned off.

"You little shit," he growls, pressing against Zuko even harder. "Your father stipulated that you were to be brought back alive." His expression grows sadistic. "You don't have to be whole to be alive."

A small shadow falls over them and then the young soldier in command stiffens. His eyes bulge and then he gags, yellow bile spurting from his mouth.

And then he screams, _screams_, before the bile turns into blood.

Zuko takes the opportunity to slam his fist against his jaw and swiftly maneuver his way out from underneath him. A grumbling sound comes from inside the young man's gut and he lets out a wimpy groan before falling to the side, dead.

Zuko looks at the body with wide golden eyes before turning his gaze onto Katara.

She looks physically ill as she stares down at her clean hands.

But Zuko bets that to her they're soaked with red.

"What did you do?" he breathes, stupefied as he takes in this Katara that he barely knows, this Katara who kills.

She_ is_ like him and it is horrifying and comforting all at once.

Her hands fall to her sides and she sways on her own feet. "They were going to take you," she justifies. And then she tips forward and Zuko moves to steady her shoulders with his hands. Katara is shaking violently and her fingers immediately dig into the fabric of his clothes. He twists a hand into her cropped hair and holds her close, even though he knows that he cannot protect her from herself.

Although, maybe he should be thinking about how to protect himself from her.

More shouting comes from the main street and Zuko gives Katara a gentle shake. "This building is only one story. Here, I'll give you a leg up."

She nods her head listlessly before allowing him to propel her onto the roof. Zuko then reaches for her offered hand and she helps haul him up after her.

There's a sudden shrill scream that sounds a lot like Toph. The both of them bound for the edge of the roof, careful to keep as low as possible.

The earthbender is being restrained by no more than _six_ burly men and Sokka is surrounded by even more Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko notices that his boomerang is stained with blood.

Three soldiers leap onto him and a moment later Sokka is unconscious and being handcuffed and dragged away. Katara parts her lips to scream, but Zuko clamps his hand over her mouth.

He watches Sokka get arrested, and even though Sokka is _Sokka_, no one deserves to be rescued on Zuko's behalf. The former Fire Prince remembers going into the skirmish that fateful day, and how protecting Sokka was almost like protecting Katara, because they're blood.

Oh, he's _so_ going to regret doing this.

"I'm going after your brother," he states firmly, already moving to jump down from the roof.

Katara's iron grip on his arm forces him to stop. "Zuko, you _can't_—"

"I'll be back. Get Toph and Cuddles and find a place to lay low, got it?" And then, before he can over think it, he presses a hasty kiss to her forehead.

Katara's hand slips away from his arm. "_Fine_," she snaps. "But if either of you get yourselves killed I'll—"

He leaps away before he can hear the rest of her statement.

The soldiers manage to pounce on him pretty quickly when he doesn't fight back. Zuko can't help but frown at the way that none of them seem suspicious in the least. How intelligent is his father's army anyway?

He's conscious for just a moment, just long enough to see Toph rolling her eyes at him.

* * *

"You fucking idiot."

That's what Zuko wakes up to.

"Don't get captured, that's all you had to do. You had one job, Zuko, one fucking job, and you _failed_."

Zuko sits up slowly and gently runs his fingers through his hair before locating the pulsating bump on his temple. "I got captured on purpose in order to—"

"You got captured on purpose? What kind of sense does that make? Gee, I'll help you out buddy and give you the answer. None! It makes _no sense_."

If Zuko had a needle and some thread he'd sew Sokka's mouth shut. The other man opens his mouth to say something else before muffled grunts of pain make him turn his head toward their cell door.

Finally he shakes his head. "See? They've probably figured out that you're awake and have come to beat us."

There are more shouts, and then everything goes quiet. Someone makes their way downstairs and into the makeshift prison, their steps light and cheerful. "Evening, rebels!" he shouts out happily.

"Great. We're gonna get the crazy one. Zuko, I hate you."

A handsome young man with brown hair steps in front of their cell door. "Personally, I can't stand the thought of rebels stuck in prison cells," he drawls. He pulls a key out of his pocket and opens up the cell door. They all listen as it swings open noisily before the young stranger steps aside and gestures for them to come out.

"Who the hell are you?" Sokka questions, slowly and warily getting to his feet.

"I'll tell you later," the man says smoothly. Then he pulls something else out of his pocket—a piece of straw. He pops it into his mouth and offers the both of them a shiny smile. "Shall we?"

* * *

**A/N:**

Everyone's favorite rebel freedom fighter! I'm excited; he always brings something thrilling to the table.

I'm actually fairly satisfied with this chapter, although I feel like you guys might not be. I can see why this could be interpreted as filler but…I wrote action! And action is so not my forte you guys don't even _know_.

I'm sorry that updates have basically slowed down to once a month. I wish I had the time and patience to write more, and I know that sometimes it's irritating to wait so long for what's only a fanfiction update. Just know that I hold out until I feel like I can provide my best possible writing. I wouldn't want to give you guys anything less than excellence, especially with a story that I feel is so important for me to get right. I hope you guys can bear with me.

I leave for Disney World in…four hours. I have not packed yet. Or slept. So, I'm gonna go do that.

Review? :D


End file.
